Exiled
by Anaklusmos14
Summary: All families have secrets. Some are small, some are not. But in an immortal family, those secrets are eternal. Millennia come and go but some secrets never fade. Olympus' biggest secret was buried so deep none thought it could ever return. How wrong they were. Everything will change and none are safe. How it ends for the world... Only the Fates know.
1. Chapter 1

Ch. 1

Three half-bloods ran as if their very lives depended on it.

 _That's because, in reality, they kinda did._

They were slowed by a smaller, dark haired boy who seemed to have some kind of disability which hindered his movements. Every step he took was labored and difficult, like he was tripping over his own feet and carrying something more than just his feet.

"Grover!" A shrill female voice yelled. "Lose the shoes!"

The disabled child, a look of utter terror on his face, kicked off his Nikes, revealing not bare feet, but bare hooves. Hiding beneath his tightly tied pair of kicks, were what appeared to be the feet of a donkey… No, scratch that, the hooves of a goat.

If the trio was surprised by this, they didn't show it. If anything, they seemed relieved as the younger boy, top half human, bottom half goat, galloped right past them and up the hill they were scrambling up.

"Luke!" A young girl, the smallest in the trio, called out as she stumbled and fell face first on the hill.

Both of her companions; a boy around fourteen, with long sandy blonde hair and blue eyes and a girl a little younger with spiky black hair and electric blue eyes, stopped in their tracks.

The boy ran back and grabbed the smaller girl whose startling grey eyes were panicked and hoisted her up on his shoulder, turning only to find the wide eyes of the spiky haired girl looking past them and at the bottom of the hill.

The boy chanced a look behind him and his face paled at what he saw.

A pack of hounds the size of pickup trucks was bounding up the hill after them. In the air above them was a trio of the most horrifying figures he had ever laid eyes on. Leathery bat wings and bleeding eyes were all he needed to see to know what was after them.

"The Furies…." The spiky haired girl whimpered before he could even say it.

"Run!" The boy yelled and turned to make a break for the top of the hill. It was only another twenty yards to the top and if Grover had told them the truth, if they made it to the top of the hill, they would be safe.

He stopped, the greyed eyed girl still over his shoulder when he noticed his companion frozen in her tracks.

"Thalia run!" He screamed, panicked when she refused to move.

"Take Annabeth," Thalia said firmly. "Get her over the border. I'll hold them off."

Luke stared at her in disbelief. He would never leave her there but if they didn't move, their chances of surviving the next ten minutes would go from slim to none.

"They're after me, not you two. We'll never make it together." Thalia said, her voice was steely but Luke could see the tears streaming down her cheeks as she spoke.

"We'll fight them together." Luke announced, deciding right then and there that there was zero chance he would leave Thalia to fight alone.

"No Luke, it has to be this way. Not all of us need to die tonight. I brought this on us, I'll deal with it."

Even as she spoke, Thalia backtracked. Perhaps her subconscious was telling her that her only chance was to try to hold them off and slip across the border. Sadly, their time ran out with a long fifteen yards between them and border.

A lone Hellhound launched itself at Thalia. With a speed impossible for a child her age, she slapped the silver bracelet on her wrist and a bronze shield sprang to life, meeting the hellish dog on its descent and slamming into its head with such force, the sounds the vertebrae crunching sent a chill down all three half-bloods' spines.

The Hellhound crumpled to the ground and melted into shadows.

The rest of the pack seemed more patient. They formed a semi-circle around the demigods, seemingly awaiting further orders as the three demonic bat winged wenches landed on the ground between the demigods and monsters.

"Daughter of Zeus!" The middle demon cackled, a look of evil glee on her face as she stared hungrily at the three demigods. "Finally ready to accept your fate?"

Luke set Annabeth down and drew a rusted looking sword from the scabbard that hung loosely from his waist. The little girl Annabeth looked terrified but held a small celestial bronze knife in front of her, her eyes darting between the monsters.

Thalia stood with her shield in front of her. The celestial bronze defensive weapon sent a chill down even the monsters' spines; an incredibly lifelike image of the snake haired woman keeping even the most brazen monster at bay, for the moment at least.

"I…I…" Thalia tried to say but found her tongue betraying her before she took a deep breath and steeled herself, "Let my friends go and fight me! I'm your prize, they mean nothing to you!"

The demon in the middle cackled again, the sound resembling nails on a chalkboard more than actual laughter.

"Perhaps that is true, but how could we pass on such a tasty treat when we now have all three of you?"

Thalia opened her mouth to reply but stopped when the sight of the Fury in front of her blurred for a moment, like a shadow or a cloud had passed between them. She thought it was her imagination but the Fury looked a little confused herself. Her momentary confusion quickly passed though and she barred her fangs at Thalia.

Before she could speak, a voice, barely above a whisper, flooded the area, sounding as if it came from every direction.

" _Playing with your food Alecto? Did your mother not tell you that isn't polite?"_

Luke looked at Thalia, his face somehow managing to turn even paler.

"Hades?" He whispered, "We're dead."

Thalia was about to agree with him but the look on Alecto's face made her pause. It was hard to tell on that haggard face but she seemed to be confused…. Maybe even a little, scared?

Another Hellhound apparently lost patience and lunged directly at Luke. He stumbled back and tripped, landing on his butt. He tried to raise his sword but it was too late. He closed his eyes, waiting for the pain of those huge fangs ripping him apart.

But the pain didn't come.

After a second, he opened one eye before the other shot open in shock when he found the Hellhound suspended in the air by an invisible force. The hound's back legs moved frantically like it was trying to pull itself up on an invisible ledge.

Then, by the same invisible force, the Hellhound's neck turned at an unnatural angle, the sounds of its neck snapping making Luke flinch involuntarily before this monster too dissolved into the night.

Alecto looked at the spot the monster had been, a low growl emanating from deep within.

"What is this? Who is there?" She screeched, a whip appearing in her hand as she looked frantically in the spot between the monsters and the demigods. The whip caught fire and she reared back, ready to strike at a moment's notice, her sisters following her lead with their own fiery whips.

" _Do you think that wise?"_ The whisper returned, sounding like a low hiss, like air escaping from a propane tank and making both monster and demigod alike shiver from the coldness of tone.

"Show yourself!" Alecto roared, trying to cover her nervousness with anger. Her sister, Tisiphone turned and lashed her whip where she saw a shadow move. The fiery whip snapped and wrapped around an invisible force. She wrenched, trying to reel whatever she had in closer only to find it unmoving.

" _You dare?"_ The voice hissed. The flames of the whip suddenly erupted and shot down the whip, engulfing the Erinye in fire. She howled in agony before dissolving into dust, leaving her two sisters staring in disbelief.

The three demigods who were rooted in their spots just stared in shock. They had no idea what was going on. They certainly weren't complaining but in the back of their heads, they knew they should run for it before whatever this was, turned its attention to them.

"Run!" A voice called from behind them. Luke turned and saw their satyr escort standing at the top of the hill, frantically waving them over. Every instinct in his body told him to do as Grover said, but there was another voice, somewhere deep in his mind, telling him the best thing he could do was not to move.

Alecto stared at the ashes of her sister in disbelief before a look of fury passed over her face.

"Direct interference is forbidden! Zeus will have your head for this! Hades shall throw you into the depths of Tartarus!"

It looked to Grover like she was yelling at the demigods. There was no one else there. He had run into camp and summoned help and could hear a small army of demigods charging up the other side of the hill to come fight the monsters. He hadn't expected to see some kind of weird standoff between the Furies and his three demigods.

A shadow slowly solidified behind Alecto, the form moving towards her, looking at a blur as it moved closer until it was right behind her, whispering in her ear.

" _Is that a promise, little daughter of Night?"_

A man formed behind the minion of Hades, so close she could feel his breath on the back of her neck.

Alecto whirled around, her whip raised to strike whatever immortal was interfering with her mission. When she laid eyes on the face behind her, she stumbled back frantically, tripping and falling on her butt, much like Luke had done when the Hellhound attacked him.

"No! No! This isn't possible!" Alecto screamed.

Thalia was in utter disbelief. A stunningly handsome man had appeared and almost literally had a torturer of Hades wetting herself. She had no idea who this was, but she had a feeling in her gut that Alecto had reason to be terrified.

"Di Immortales…" She heard a deep voice behind her. She turned and saw what took her a moment to recognize as a centaur staring open mouthed at the man.

Suddenly, the man vanished. In the blink of an eye, the other Fury, Megaera screeched out in agony, the man appearing behind her with a sword that looked darker than the night in her back. Megaera dissolved into dust and the man vanished. Quicker than her eyes could follow, Hellhounds let loose roars of pain before they dissolved into shadows. In a matter of seconds, the entire army of monsters was gone, leaving only Alecto who was still stuck of her butt, a look of terror on her face.

The man appeared in front of her and reached down, grabbing her around the neck and lifting her off the ground, holding her in the air right in front of his face.

" _If Zeus wishes for my head, he need only come and get it."_ His voice was a low growl and it held so much anger, it was almost palpable, and Thalia could feel it, like the very night itself was heavy, reflecting the man's mood.

Before she had a chance to respond, the man dropped Alecto from his grasp. Before she could catch herself with her bat wings, the man spun around, the sword appearing in his hand and slicing the final servant of Hades clean in half.

Alecto was a pile of dust before she even knew what happened.

The sword vanished from the man's hand and he turned to the three demigods in front of him. He took a step towards them when an arrow whizzed over their heads and would have caught him in the forehead… If he hadn't caught it.

In the blink of an eye, a bow appeared in his hands and he fired the arrow back in the direction it had come in. Thalia heard a cry of pain and turned to find the centaur toppled over, an arrow sticking out of his front leg as the demigods around him jumped back in shock.

" _This is a private matter."_ The man muttered and waved his hand, sending the demigods and injured centaur flying backwards, landing roughly twenty feet from where they had been standing.

Luke held up his sword in a trembling hand as the man took another step towards them.

"S…St..Stop right there!" Luke stuttered out.

The man stopped and raised an eyebrow. Finally closer, Thalia got a chance to get a better look at the man. He was incredibly handsome, his face looking like it was carved from stone. His black hair was long and a neatly trimmed beard were barely noticeable past his eyes which were the blackest black Thalia had ever seen. Like his sword, they somehow managed to appear darker than night, like two small blackholes in the middle of his head. Despite their peculiar appearance, they were breathtaking, only adding to what seemed like a flawless face.

He held up his hands in front of him, in a peacemaking gesture. His eyes turned to Thalia and his features seemed to soften just a little.

"Watch your back child, this will not be the last time they try to kill you."

"W..Who are you?" Thalia choked out… The guy seemed to radiate power and she had no doubt if he had wanted to, they would already be dead.

He seemed a little amused by the question, which she didn't really get. Then he looked thoughtful, like the question required some thought.

He seemed to settle on an answer and winked at her, "Name's Perseus, little sis."

 **A.N: I haven't touched a story in months… I needed a warmup… This is a twist on that God of Night story I used to have, if anyone around still remembers that.** **I'll get back to others very soon, I feel like writing again.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Ch. 2**

Thalia pulled her parka tight around her as the wind whipped hard and the cold night air sent a shiver down her body. December in New England wasn't the place she envisioned spending her weekend… And yet, here she was, standing in the middle of Maine, shivering as the wind blistered her red cheeks.

She glanced to her left where Luke was trying to shake the cold out of his body as well.

Two years had passed since they found their way to Camp Half Blood.

 _That was an experience,_ she remembered less than fondly.

All three kindly ones and a pack of Hellhounds on their trail, useless Grover leaving them half way up Half Blood Hill and three inexperienced half-bloods barely armed against and Hades' minions was not her idea of a good time.

Then there was that mysterious guy, er, god, er, whatever he was. He called her _little sis_ , which only made her more confused about the whole thing. Whoever or whatever he was, he was powerful. She'd met a couple Olympians and he felt, well, different. Powerful, probably more powerful than most gods she'd met, maybe outside of her father, but also different. She got a certain vibe from the Olympians she'd met, that guy was different.

She'd hoped to find out more about him but away from Luke and Annabeth, she hadn't been able to even mention it. Chiron had made it very clear on their first night that mentioning him and what happened would not end well. He refused to elaborate or tell her who he was, claiming he wasn't sure, but she could tell he was lying. He knew who he was, or at least, had a pretty good idea. But having gotten to know Chiron, anyone who made him that uneasy was probably not someone she wanted to know anything about anyway.

Though when they were alone, Luke and she talked about him a lot, debating who he might be… She thought he might be a Titan but couldn't be sure. For one, she had no idea what a Titan was supposed to look like but that was the best conjecture she could come up with. Luke didn't have a better answer so she decided to go with that for now.

Now wasn't the time to think about such things though. They had a job to do and it certainly wasn't getting done daydreaming in the middle of winter in upstate Maine. Chiron had sent them here to help Grover, who had sent a distress call about two powerful half-bloods in danger. As they made their way up to the door, she realized they hadn't come up with anything close to a plan.

Before she had a chance to stop him, Luke opened the door to the Westover Hall School Gymnasium, revealing what seemed like a pretty lame dance. Balloons and decorations littered the basketball court. The lights were slightly dimmed and a multicolored strobe light gave Thalia an almost instant headache. She tried not to vomit when she heard Britney Spears playing loudly from the speakers set up next to a douchey looking DJ on the other side of the room. The boys and girls seemed to be on different sides of the gym trying to get as far away from each other as humanly possible.

 _Barf,_ she thought morosely… A boy/girl dance with middle school kids was about the last place she _ever_ wanted to be.

Before they had a chance to even look for Grover, two people seemed to materialize right in front of them. The first was an older looking woman; she had a grey hair and thick glasses. She looked at the duo suspiciously.

The other was a younger but stranger looking man. He had one of those thin mustaches that curled around his lip. His golden slicked back hair looked almost unnatural. It wasn't blonde, nor was it red. It was golden, like the color of a lion's fur which looked really weird on his pale face. He wore a dark suit and looked at them with the strangest pair of eyes she'd ever seen. One of them was green, the other was sky blue… Not that different than the color of her own eyes.

"Can we help you?" He asked in a heavy, maybe Eastern European accent.

Thalia groaned mentally as she drew a blank, cursing herself for not thinking up a backstory for them. Luke though, just snapped his fingers twice between the two adults and stepped back smiling.

"What do you mean?" He asked sounding genuinely confused. "We go to school here, remember? Thalia and Luke… We're here for the dance."

The woman's eyes glazed over and she slowly started to nod. Thalia was looking at her, trying to figure out what just happened. The man though, just narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Do you know these two, Ms. Gottschalk?" He asked looking at them skeptically.

She continued to nod her head, "Of course Dr. Thorn," her voice sounded a little dreamy, like she was in a daze. "This is Thalia and Luke… They're here for the dance."

 _Ms. Gottschalk?_ Thalia mused, trying not to smile despite their situation. _Was there seriously a teacher called Ms. Gottschalk?_

Dr. Thorn continued to stare at them with doubt but nodded his head nonetheless and stepped aside, allowing them inside. Thalia watched him as they passed. His eyes remained narrowed until they were past him. After that, he turned and strode away, a quick little hop in his step like he was hurrying to the bathroom after one too many glasses of punch.

Once they were out of earshot, Thalia elbowed Luke in the ribs.

"What was that?"

He groaned at the less than light jab, "Manipulated the mist… Hasn't Chiron showed you that?"

She frowned; a little miffed that Chiron hadn't taught her how to do that and that Luke hadn't mentioned he knew how to do it until a moment before.

"No," she grumbled. "But I don't think it worked on Dr. Thorn back there, did you see the way he looked at us?"

Luke just shrugged, "He let us in. Who knows, maybe he's the monster Grover warned us about. It only works on mortals."

Before Thalia had a chance to respond, Grover came running up to them, his face pale and expression worried.

"Guys! You made it!" His tone was relieved but Thalia could tell he was still nervous. He seriously had to be the lamest satyr in existence. She loved Grover, they were good friends but when it came to danger, she would have felt safer with a straw dummy protecting demigods than Grover.

Luke smiled at his satyr friend, "Yeah Grover, what's up?"

"Two powerful demigods," Grover replied before flinching at the scowl Thalia sent his way.

"For the love of the gods," she hissed quietly, "can you please be a little more discreet before everyone here knows we're looking for half-bloods?"

"Sorry," Grover said apologetically. Luke shot Thalia a look but she just rolled her eyes knowing she was right and a little tough love might do their friend some good.

"Where are they?" Luke said as he looked around for signs of demigodishness… _And yes, that was a word of his own creation_.

Grover pointed towards the bleachers but then paused, a look of confusion on his face. He scanned the crowds of students, his face losing more and more color as he tried to locate them.

"The half-bloods," he whispered. "I was watching them but they're gone now! They were over on those bleachers not two minutes ago."

Thalia looked over where Grover was pointing and saw a floppy white hat laying on the floor, along with a mess of some kind of cards scattered over the bleachers.

"Hades, goat boy," Thalia hissed. "How did you already lose them?"

"I… I… I…" Grover stuttered nervously. "I swear I was just with them before I saw you guys walk…k…k…k in." He bleated, a telltale sign that he was about to: A) start crying or B) Saw someone walk by with an enticing snack, like a tin can or cheese enchilada.

Before Grover break down, Luke pointed to the other side the room where they saw Dr. Thorn basically dragging two kids out a side entrance of the gym.

"There," he said quickly. "That Dr. Thorn guy has them."

Thalia noticed the way Grover seemed to go a little more pale.

"That's why I called camp," he said anxiously. "I don't know what he is, but that guy has a really strong scent. Definitely a monster."

Thalia shook her head, "Great, I was hoping this would be as difficult as possible."

Without wasting another minute, Luke and Thalia charged off in the direction Thorn had made off with the demigods. By the time they caught up with him, he was in a clearing outside the school, seemingly walking himself into a trap with cliffs ahead of him and the two demigods behind.

"Hey!" Luke yelled. "Drop those two right now and we'll make this quick for you."

Thorn stopped and turned back to them, an evil smile spreading across his face.

"Ah, Luke Castellan and Thalia Grace, how pleasant of you to come see me off. The general will be quite pleased when I return with two extra demigods, a daughter of Zeus no less."

Thalia flinched when she heard her last name. It was not something many people knew and definitely not something she liked to be called, let alone by some monster scum.

Luke unsheathed his sword and stepped closer, closing the distance between him and the monster. Before he had a chance to react, he was suddenly knocked off his sweet, a cry of pain filling the previously silent night.

"Luke!" Thalia screamed. She tried to run towards him but had to roll aside as a projectile was launched in her direction. She slapped her wrist and Aegis sprang to life, blocking the next couple volleys.

"It's a manticore," Grover said nervously running up beside them, careful to stay safely behind Thalia and her shield. "Thalia, be careful."

She grit her teeth, "Help Luke, I've got this clown."

Thalia tried to step towards the monster but she had to keep dodging and blocking spikes being launched continuously. She managed to get within ten feet when Thorn tossed the two half-bloods behind him and changed form. From an awkward looking man, he still had the face of a man but the body of a lion, a deadly looking scorpion tail rounding out his truly horrible form.

Before she could react, he lunged at her, flying ten feet with the speed and grace of a true lion. Thalia barely managed to roll aside. The monster hit her shield and glanced off, tumbling a few times before regaining his feet and getting low, ready to pounce again. He fired a few more spikes that kept Thalia on the defensive but as he made to lunge, the monster cried out in pain.

Thalia expected to see Luke with his sword in the monster, grinning like an idiot for saving the day. What she found was almost as annoying and easily her second choice to Luke being a tool.

A silver arrow sprouted from Thorn's backside. He roared in pain and turned to find twenty young girls emerging from the woods, garbed in silver parkas, black camo pants and combat boots.

 _The hunters,_ Thalia thought, unsure if she was pleased or angered by this.

"Argh," Thorn growled and backed up towards the two terror stricken paralyzed demigods. When he identified his attackers, an even uglier look appeared on his face. "You have no right to be here! This is direct interference!" He bellowed at the hunters though Thalia wasn't sure if he knew which one he was talking to.

An auburn haired girl about twelve years old stepped forward; her yellowy silver eyes making her appear different than the other adolescent girls.

"Not so." She said evenly. "The hunting of all wild beasts is in my domain. And you, foul creature, are free game for me and my hunters."

Thorn growled ferociously and launched a volley of spikes at the hunters. They all nimbly dodged but the move bought him enough time to snatch Thalia in his grip, holding her in front of him like a shield.

"You have no business here, goddess. Leave and I won't spill the blood of these half-bloods."

The goddess' eyes narrowed a little and a silver bow appeared in her hand, an arrow already notched and ready to take the beast down in an instant.

Before she could loose an arrow, the manticore suddenly cried out in pain. He dropped Thalia who immediately rolled aside and looked up at the rigid body of the monster. A sword poked out the front of his body as a man materialized behind the monster.

Thalia's first thought was that this was the mysterious man who appeared on half-blood hill two years earlier and saved her life. But as the monster began to dissolve, she saw the face of the man was covered by a silver mask and a hood cast a shadow over his eyes, stopping her from getting much of a look at all. The figure's apparel was similar to that of the hunters and had he not been at least six and half feet tall, she would have guessed it were a hunter.

The mysterious figure shook the dust off his sword and sheathed it at his waist. Without even a passing glance at Thalia or the hunters, it turned its attention to the two demigods the manticore had tried to make off with.

Before he could take his first step, a silver arrow whizzed up his head. It might have hit him had he not tilted his head to the side at the last second and the arrow sailed over the cliff and into the waiting sea below.

His rigid form almost made Thalia shiver. The way he straightened and his body went stiff told her that whoever this was wasn't just mad about that arrow, he was absolutely pissed.

He seemed to try and ignore it and took another step towards the two frightened demigods who huddled together near the cliff's edge. The girl tucked her younger brother beneath her in an almost motherly protective gesture.

A second arrow flew through the periphery of Thalia's vison. She followed its path and felt her mouth drop a little at what she saw. Almost like she was seeing it in slow motion, the man spun around just before the arrow found its mark in his back. His fist came around in what looked like a haymaker of a punch and connected with the arrow just before it would have impaled him.

Looking back, it shouldn't have even been possible. But when his fist hit the arrow's deadly point, it wasn't the man crying out in pain. Instead the arrow exploded in a shower of silver sparks that illuminated the dark air all around the man. Though she couldn't see his face, she could only imagine the look of anger that was there.

 _The more she watched, the more she was convinced, this was in fact the same man who had showed up and saved her life on Half-Blood Hill two years earlier._

"Do that again, and I will end this fight before it starts, _little goddess."_ He spat the words _little goddess_ like they were poison.

The small girl Thalia recognized as Artemis looked momentarily stunned before her previously beautiful features were marred by a look of absolute fury.

"You dare threaten a goddess? An Olympian?" She growled back and even though the words came from the mouth of a twelve year old girl, they still made Thalia gulp.

The man seemed unaffected by her threat and turned back towards the two unknown half-bloods.

Before he could get more than two steps, a volley of silver arrows, coming from the bows of every hunter, sailed towards him

What happened next, Thalia never could really explain in words. It was like she was watching it on video and had the control set to super slow motion. She knew how quickly it was happening and had no idea how she was able to comprehend it.

She felt the ground beneath her disappear and fell with a thump, landing in front of the two demigods they had come to Maine to rescue.

Her head turned just in time to find the man, who she assumed was this Perseus guy, especially when a pure black bow appeared in his own hand.

Instead of rolling aside, he lunged straight towards the incoming barrage of arrows. He swung his bow like a baseball bat, crushing the closest arrow to dust and spun around, grasping at the string on his own bow, a pitch black arrow appearing on the string before he fired it right back at a hunter who was still watching the trajectory of her last shot. A shaft of pure darkness, nothing more than a blur seen in the light of the moon and stars flew back in the direction of the hunters. It was too quick for her eyes to follow but she knew what happened a split second later when the huntress cried out, a black arrow protruding from her right thigh.

Thalia's eyes darted back to the man who had already fired a trio of additional arrows, the clouds of silver dust still in the air from the other huntress' strikes. She didn't even have a chance to look when she heard more hunters crying out, all of them keeling over with arrows sticking out of their own thighs, one took an arrow in the knee and literally knocked her feet out from under her, making her face plant into the frozen earth beneath her.

In a matter of seconds, every hunter was sprawled out on the floor of the forest, arrows protruding from different appendages. None of the wounds were fatal but all hit precise spots that incapacitated the hunters until they could receive medical help.

Artemis stood in her spot. She and another hunter that Thalia annoyingly recognized as Zoë Nightshade were the ones left unharmed. The look on the goddess' face wasn't what Thalia expected. She'd expected to see anger, rage and maybe worry for her hunters. But instead, her eyes were locked on the masked man. A myriad of emotions could be seen. Her mouth was slightly agape, a look of utter disbelief mixed with worry, fear and almost panic. The last two confused Thalia because she was an Olympian Goddess; _she wasn't supposed to get scared._

"No," she mumbled, seeming to be in shock.

But before she had a chance to recover her wits, Thalia thought she was about to be incinerated because the man's body seemed to explode. Thalia thought he had taken his true form but the light wasn't bright. It was like an explosion of pure darkness. She saw Zoë shield her own eyes and figured she had thought what she had been thinking. But before she could realize her error, Zoë was blasted backwards, flying through the air and landing roughly on the ground almost twenty feet from the goddess.

Suddenly he was right in front of Artemis. His bow had been replaced by that wicked looking black sword of his. Had she not been the goddess of the hunt and probably the most agile being in existence, her head would have been cleaved right off.

Her survival instincts kicked in and she fell straight backwards, the blade passing so close to her face, she could have kissed the metal as it went by. Her hunting knives appeared in her hands and she immediately put them in front of her, blocking a second strike that too would have cut her in half.

She kicked his legs, knocking him back a step and allowing her to jump back to her feet. She seemed to hesitate though and didn't go on the offensive.

The feeling, whatever it was, clearly wasn't mutual as he lunged at the goddess.

He was a blur of darkness in the night, hard to follow but unmistakable as he moved. His body seemed to change forms as he attacked. One minute he was just a man with a sword, the next he was a panther, then the leopard, a Black Bear… Thalia's eyes were taking in more information than her brain could comprehend.

Artemis' form disappeared as he attacked… She was a blur of silver as she fought him off. Her own body seemed to change, almost like she was following his lead… She was a lion, then a tiger, a gazelle; every change seemed to save her from certain death. They battle looked like a synergetic dance, black and silver, a yin and yang battling it out for dominance.

Thalia caught glimpses of them in their human forms; Artemis jumping back as the black blade sliced across her arm sending ichor pouring from the wound; a hunting knife grazing his leg before being batted aside.

Thalia had no doubt this was both the most horrifying and the most epic thing she had ever seen. A battle of immortals, the divine unleashing their true power and strength as they collided again and again, sparks flying whenever their weapons met. It looked like the dark figure was the stronger fighter; he dictated the fight and Artemis was simply trying to stay alive.

As he continued his assault, his movements slowed ever so slightly, likely from fatigue and it gave Artemis an opening at last. She feinted a blow low that the man seemed to buy. He went to dodge when she spun around, catching him across the face with the back of her left hand. The blow was glancing and not even enough to stun the male god but it did knock the silver mask from his face, revealing what Thalia had already assumed: It was the Perseus being that had saved her life years earlier.

While Artemis didn't look shocked like she had first been, the sight of his face did make her pause.

That only seemed to make him angry through. He threw a punch at her face. When she made to block, he used the flat of his blade to smack the back of her leg hard enough to knock her off her feet. He raised his blade and Thalia had no doubt the goddess was about to visit Tartarus the hard way.

Before he could deliver the blow, a small silver form jumped on his back from behind. While it did save the goddess, at least for the moment, it clearly did not go the way she had originally envisioned.

In the blink of an eye, Perseus had Zoë Nightshade in the air by her throat. He needed only to squeeze and she would be gone from this world. Something, Thalia wasn't sure if it was surprise or maybe mercy, made Perseus pause though when he looked at the huntress.

Artemis launched herself at his legs, trying to tackle him to the ground but he seemed to know it was coming. A huge booted foot knocked the goddess out of the air, midflight, and she rolled on the ground towards Thalia.

"Enough!" Perseus snapped. "Move again and I'll snap her in half!" It was clear there was no bluff in his threat and Artemis seemed to know it as well. She crouched on the ground in front of her, looking more like a wounded and scared animal than an Olympian Goddess.

Zoë's legs kicked frantically as she struggled to her air past his iron grip. He noticed and to Thalia's surprise, his grip seemed to loosen, ever so slightly, enough for her to breath with some difficulty.

"P…P…" Artemis started to say but when his body straightened and his grip on Zoë's throat tightened, she went silent again. It was hard to tell from her angle but Thalia thought she saw tears running down the goddess' cheeks.

"What do you want?" She finally managed to croak out.

The question made Perseus pause for a just a second. He glared murderously down at the goddess before glancing at the struggling Zoë in his grasp. His shoulders seemed to relax for just a moment before he tossed the hunter at the goddess' feet. Zoë landed roughly and her hands went to her throat and she coughed and sucked oxygen into her lungs frantically.

"I want many things but her life is not one of them." He spat coldly. He looked like he was about to say something else when thunder boomed overhead. A golden light appeared beside Artemis and the wide eyed form of the second of the twin archers appeared next to his sister. He stared up at Perseus with the same mixture of worry, shock and fear that Artemis had.

Before Apollo could say anything, Thalia felt the same sensation of the ground disappearing beneath her. She reappeared, along with the other two demigods beside Perseus. She felt her stomach drop when she saw the golden shackles around the necks of the other two demigods. She reached up and found one around hers as well, all connected to a chain gripped firmly in his grasp.

Perseus looked at the two Olympians and spit on the ground in front of them.

"What do I want you ask? I want it all and I shall have it! Just you wait; I will be back for all of you!"

Then Thalia, the two demigods and Perseus were engulfed by a wall of darkness and vanished from the edge of the cliffs. The last thing Thalia heard before everything went dark was a single word muttered in Ancient Greek from Apollo's mouth.

" _Brother."_

 **A.N: Look at that, two chapters in two days. I don't make updating schedules anymore. I write when I feel like it and right now I feel like it. I do want to go finish up other stories but I'm just going to go with what my little brain picks for me.**

 **And next chapter, some things will be explained. Some of you will know some of it, but from reviews, some of you have no idea.**

 **Thanks for reading and let me know what you thought.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Ch. 3**

Luke winced when Grover pulled the spike from his shoulder. Whatever nature magic the satyr was trying to use wasn't working so well. The wound immediately began to gush blood as soon as the projectile came out. Grover scrambled to slow the bleeding but if anything, he seemed to be making it worse.

"Let me handle this," a male voice said, pushing Grover's fumbling hands away from the wound. Apollo muttered some kind of incantation and covered the gash with glowing hands. The pain immediately lessened and Luke could almost feel the skin knitting itself back together.

"That should do it," Apollo muttered pulling his hands away.

"Um, thank you, Lord Apollo." He said a little stunned he had just been healed by the god of medicine himself.

Apollo just nodded absentmindedly and turned back to his sister who had helped her hunters set up their camp so they could get to work on the wounded; which was a the majority of the hunters… Those with lesser wounds were working on the more severe.

Luke tried to follow Apollo with his eyes. He had seen the way Artemis and Apollo interacted during the Winter Solstice his first year in camp and from what he had seen; it was a pretty strict love/hate thing. Mostly Apollo aggravated the huntress who kept quiet save for an occasional jab at his intelligence or maturity.

Though his experience on their interactions was limited, he was still shocked when Apollo slipped an arm around his twin's shoulder and pulled her close in an effort to console her. He was pretty sure he had seen tears in the goddess' eyes after Perseus vanished but she was quick to wipe them away and turn stoic before any of her hunters noticed.

The entire situation confused the son of Hermes to no end but their behavior wasn't exactly on the top of his mind.

 _Thalia was gone; taken with the other two half-bloods to Hades knows where._

He couldn't shake the voice in the back of his mind telling him he'd never see her again. Thalia was his best friend and he'd just let her get snatched up by this mysterious god dude who up until that night, he'd pretty much considered the coolest thing since sliced bread.

He thought about the prospect of returning to camp, just him and Grover; having to tell Chiron and the campers that not only had he failed to save the two half-bloods but he'd managed to lose Thalia, the most powerful demigod he'd ever met and the daughter of Zeus himself.

 _Oh gods_ , _he thought in horror as he imagined telling Annabeth that he'd lost Thalia._ She was the closest thing to family either of them had… Those big grey eyes had a way to ripping his heart to pieces.

"Luke," Grover interrupted his thoughts and snapped him out of his trance. "What do we do?" The satyr had a look of hopelessness on his face. It wasn't that uncommon for Grover but Luke had a feeling he looked about the same.

Before he could try and answer him, one of the hunters approached them in their spot a little ways away from the hunters' camp. Luke recognized her instantly. She was the one who had almost been snapped in half by Perseus. He also knew her from the past… She was the one who had tried to recruit Thalia and Annabeth into the hunt while they were on the run, tried to strip him of his only friends and leave him all alone to run from the monsters.

"Zoë," he said coldly. "What can I possibly do for a hunter?"

Zoë gave him a slight glare but she seemed a little out of it, much like Apollo and Artemis looked. He wondered if she knew who Perseus was too and would have asked had she not pointed towards the tents before he could speak.

"Lady Artemis and Lord Apollo wish to speak to thee." There was definitely something off with Zoë. Not that he claimed to know or want to know anything about the huntress, but in their few interactions, she had never passed on a chance to insult him for having the gall to be a male.

He looked at where she was pointing and climbed to his feet. He stepped towards the tent when Zoë's voice stopped him.

"Not you, satyr." She held a hand in front of Grover, preventing him from following Luke.

"Don't tell him what to do." Luke snapped. "He's not one of your hunters and doesn't take orders from you."

Zoë's eyes flashed dangerously but Grover quickly butted in to prevent a potential standoff.

"It's okay Luke, Lady Artemis and Lord Apollo want to speak to you. I will, uh, see if I can do anything to help the hunters with the wounded."

Luke kept his eyes on Zoë, almost daring her to say something else. But Zoë just nodded, "Thank you satyr, we have many injured. Perhaps some of thy nature magic can help speed up the healing."

Grover's eyes lit up at the chance to help the hunters and use his nature magic. He trotted off towards the hunters' tents, digging through his pack for anything that might help with healing.

"That satyr has a name, hunter," Luke said coldly. "It's Grover."

Zoë looked like she wanted to snap back but then thought better of it and just pointed towards the tent.

"Lady Artemis and Lord Apollo do not like to be kept waiting."

He was surprised she didn't retort back with some kind of insult. He started to walk towards the tent, hoping he might find out something about where Thalia might have been taken.

When he walked through the tent flap, he froze in his tracks for a moment. The tent was obviously enchanted because it was much larger on the inside than it looked on the outside. The floor was covered in furs from different animals; bears, foxes, lions, tigers and just about anything else that could be hunted for sport. The walls were decorated with the pelts of even more animals, ones from all over the world. If a member of PETA stepped into this tent Luke figured they might have something to say about all the dead animal furs. But being goddess of the hunt and wilderness and whatever else Artemis was, he guessed she could probably repopulate whatever she killed so he doubted the pelts of the endangered animals would be hurting their species populations.

Artemis was seated Indian style on the far side of the tent. She looked like she was petting a huge stuffed animal but when the golden stag raised its head to look at Luke; he quickly realized it was very much alive.

Apollo was a few feet away from his sister. He hadn't even looked up when Luke entered. He seemed to be lost in his own thoughts, pacing back and forth and threatening to burn a hole straight through one of Artemis' fur rugs.

"Brother," Artemis said softly and her tone surprised Luke. He'd never heard an immortal sound so… _broken._ It was like the fight with Perseus had sapped the life right out of her and she sounded like she was about to either pass out or break down in tears.

Apollo finally looked up and his expression wasn't any less surprising. He looked nervous and antsy… Like he was waiting for something bad to happen and had no idea when it was coming.

"Luke Castellan," Artemis said with a little more firmness in her voice. "Please sit," she gestured to a pillow that appeared by his feet. Luke took a seat and waited for the goddess to speak. But Apollo jumped in before she had a chance.

"What happened?" He blurted out and Artemis shot him a look of annoyance that he ignored, looking impatient for Luke's response.

"Uh, well, Lord Apollo…" He found the words hard to get out with Apollo looking at him so expectantly. "We came here for the two demigods… The other two that were taken, other than Thalia."

Apollo nodded impatiently, showing he was expecting more.

"Well, I got hit with one of the manticore's spikes and," he tried to lick his lips which were getting dry with Apollo staring at him. "Then the hunters showed up. And well, after that, that guy Perseus showed up and I think Lady Artemis knows better what happened then."

Apollo's eyes went wide and he closed the distance between them in an instant, "How do you know his name half-blood?" He pulled Luke up by the collar of his jacket and was holding his faces inches from his own, like he was trying to sniff out a lie.

"We… We… We saw him before. Two years ago, he appeared on Half-Blood Hill when we first arrived at camp. The three Furies and a pact of Hellhounds would have killed us if he hadn't saved us."

Apollo stared at him for a full five seconds before letting go of his jacket, apparently sensing no lies in his words.

"Why wasn't the council informed of this?" He tone was less angry and more confused now. "How is this the first I've heard of it?"

Luke just shook his head, "Chiron warned us not to repeat what had happened to anyone, not even the other campers. He said it would only bring hardship to us."

Artemis said something quick to her brother in ancient Greek, too quickly for Luke to catch it. Apollo calmed for the moment and his sister leaned forward looking very interested.

"Tell me son of Hermes, from the beginning, everything that happened on Half Blood Hill."

Luke recounted everything, from Perseus' creepy entrance, to dismantling the Furies and catching Chiron's arrow in midair and firing it back into his leg. By the end of the story, Luke thought he almost saw a little bit of a smile creep onto the goddess' face until it was wiped away by Apollo and her getting into a hushed and heated debate in ancient Greek. It was tough to hear but he managed to pick out a couple words; mother and the council.

By the end it seemed Apollo had won and he walked right past Luke without another word. From the blinding light that came from outside the tent, he clearly took his true form the second he was far enough away to not incinerate Luke; or Zoë, who had listened in silence at Artemis' side throughout the whole conversation.

"Lady Artemis," Luke asked after a moment of silence. "Who is Perseus?"

Zoë scowled at him, "That is not thy concern, _bo…._ " She was stopped when Artemis raised her hand to her lieutenant.

"He deserves some sort of explanation, Zoë." The huntress frowned but didn't argue. Artemis took a breath like she was trying to steady her nerves or reel in her emotions. "Perseus is a god, a god who was exiled from Olympus long ago. It was believed he had faded or failed to escape Tartarus but it appears that was assumed in error."

Luke was positive there was a tone to Artemis' voice, almost like the fact was a relief to her.

"Exiled?" He asked; his curiosity peaked at what kind of act could get a god exiled from Olympus.

"A choice, made long ago that was unforgivable."

"What could a god do that earns him banishment from Olympus?"

Artemis exchanged a look with Zoë for some reason and then sighed, like it was something she didn't like talking about.

"There were many reasons but the final straw was when some of the gods captured Zeus in a golden net."

"That was him?" Luke asked in shock. Zoë shot him a vicious sneer for interrupting her goddess.

"Yes and when Zeus swore to be a better ruler, Perseus did not believe him like the other gods. He swore on the River Styx he would never again bow to Zeus. When Zeus was freed, he forgave every god except Perseus, who had masterminded the coup. When Zeus demanded he bow before him, Perseus would not submit and the two fought."

"He fought Zeus?" Luke's wonder got the better of him and the words just blurted out. Zoë unsheathed a hunting knife but Artemis stopped her with a hand.

"Yes and it was battle like none seen since the war with the Titans. In the end, Zeus was triumphant and he cast Perseus into Tartarus, exiling him for eternity from both the heavens and earth."

Luke tried to comprehend the story. How had he never heard about this? As if reading his mind, Artemis answered.

"His banishment included being stricken from history. Zeus ordered any record of him destroyed and he be erased from the histories of Olympus."

"So now he has Thalia, a daughter of Zeus. He's doing this to get back at Zeus." Luke felt that nagging feeling that he'd never see Thalia again return even stronger.

"Not necessarily." Artemis said softly. Something was off about the way she talked about him. It was like she loved him and the thought of this jerkoff being evil was something she couldn't accept.

"He's evil." Luke said bluntly. "I need to get back to Camp Half-Blood. We need a quest to find Thalia."

A look of anger flashed through Artemis' silver eyes and it was more than enough to quiet him down real quick.

"You presume much, _boy."_ The venom in her voice made him shiver.

Luke watched the anger in her eyes fade and be replaced by a sadness that he had seen when he first walked in. Suddenly a thought popped into his head and before he could stop himself, he said it aloud.

"He's your brother."

Silence.

Artemis stared at the son of Hermes, trying to comprehend how he had figured it out. Then her head dropped and her body seemed to slouch like that statement took the life out of her.

"Yes," she whispered. "Perseus is my brother; the third and youngest child of Zeus and Leto."

 **Line Break**

Thalia felt herself emerge from the darkness that had engulfed her when Perseus kidnapped her and the other two unknown demigods. When she opened her eyes, she found herself in a sunny room, seated on a luxurious chair. The other two demigods were seated on a plush couch looking just as confused as she was.

Before she could even say anything, the young boy broke into tears and his sister wrapped her arms around him, trying to console him despite her own look of fear.

Thalia's hands went to her neck and found the shackle was gone. She looked at her wrist and breathed a sigh of relief, Aegis was still there. She could feel the canister of mace in her pocket, her disguised spear. Though she doubted they would help in a fight against this guy, she was relieved she at least had a way to defend herself.

Just as she was about to say something to the girl about making a break for it, Perseus materialized along with a chair across from her, his dark eyes staring right through her and making her gulp nervously.

She swallowed her fear though and glared at him, "What do you want? And what are you?"

Perseus raised an eyebrow and Thalia worried he was about to blast her. But his lips curled into an amused smile and he nodded at her.

"How rude of me, where are my manners?" He stood up and made an over exaggerated bow at her. "I am Perseus, the God of Night and son of Zeus and Leto."

Thalia's eyes went wide, "You're brother to Apollo and Artemis?"

His smiled vanished and a sneer covered his face, "Those two are no siblings of mine." He spat and she immediately knew that was a touchy subject.

"Right," she said awkwardly and then remembered she really didn't care if he didn't like it; _he had just kidnapped her and two kids_. "Well whatever, I really don't care about you or your shitty relationship with them. What do you want with us? If you brought us here to kill us, just be done with it."

The smile crept back onto his face and somehow Thalia could tell it wasn't condescending or vindictive.

"I'm not going to hurt you, any of you." He looked at the two siblings and tried to ease their worries, not that it helped much. "I brought you three here to help you," he paused, "well, I think we can help each other. I know these two are still in the dark but surely you have heard about the great prophecy, right?"

Thalia's eyes widened a little. She'd heard about the great prophecy… Hades, it was all she heard sometimes; everyone thought it was about her. But the thing about it was, she didn't actually know the prophecy.

"Ah," Perseus nodded like he knew what she was thinking. "Know of it but don't know it, right? Typical of the gods, hiding the truth from heroes. Well, let me enlighten you on what waits in store for you if you live to be sixteen." He cleared his throat and looked at her seriously.

 _"_ _A Half-Blood of the eldest gods,  
shall reach sixteen against all odds  
And see the world in endless sleep  
The heroes soul, cursed blade shall reap  
A single choice shall end their days  
Olympus to Preserve or Raze."_

Thalia stood like a statue in her spot until she took a step back and fell back into her chair. She tried to digest the words she'd just heard; the line about a single choice ending her days playing back and forth in her mind.

"I die." It wasn't a question. She just said it out loud because she needed to hear it so it would fully sink in. "These past two years, all the talk about being the chosen one and its being chosen to die?" She could feel the anger start to swell inside her. She felt like everyone, Chiron, the older campers, the gods, had lied to her since she first got to camp. They acted like it was an honor. Some friends they were.

Perseus looked a little sympathetic but gave her a moment to digest the significance of what she'd just heard. Thalia looked over at the other two half-bloods. The boy had stopped crying; both he and his sister were staring at her, obviously confused but seeming to understand something bad had just happened.

"Who are they? Why did you take them too? Why do you need us all?"

Perseus sat back down in his chair, crossing his legs and resting his ankle on his knee.

"I was hoping to ease them into it but I suppose it's better to just get it out there and explain later. Thalia, this is Nico and Bianca Di Angelo, they are children of Hades." Thalia's eyes went wide but he continued before she could speak. "You three, as far as I know, are the only living demigod children of the three eldest gods. So if this prophecy comes to pass, one of you three will be the one."

Things started to come together for Thalia and a dark thought crossed her mind, "You're hoping to use one of us, whichever is willing to do what you want. You want to destroy Olympus, don't you?"

Perseus' lips curled and a smile crept onto his lips again, this one making Thalia shiver.

 **A.N: So shorter chapter but hopefully this explains things a little better for you. Though I suppose I've left and even added plenty of questions as well. Do you wanna know the best part? I don't even know the answers. I hope you guys understand, I make this up as I go. I mean different ideas run through my mind all the time but until I sit down with the laptop, I have no idea what is going to come out. A lot of times what I plan to write doesn't work and I take it out, maybe do a little research or thinking and the story takes a huge left turn. Sometimes ideas come via review, I love hearing ideas, it helps the process. But for the most part, I think (and hope) it weaves itself into a story that makes sense.**

 **I tried coming up with a good reason for him betraying Olympus... I was gonna say he sided with the Titans in the first war then realized he wasn't even born yet, lol. And yes, I changed the great prophecy from "his" to "their" so it could be a boy or a girl.**

 **Hopefully another chapter this weekend, this is fun to write. Thanks for reading.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Ch. 4**

 **Last Chapter…**

 _Perseus sat back down in his chair, crossing his legs and resting his ankle on his knee._

 _"I was hoping to ease them into it but I suppose it's better to just get it out there and explain later. Thalia, this is Nico and Bianca Di Angelo, they are children of Hades." Thalia's eyes went wide but he continued before she could speak. "You three, as far as I know, are the only living demigod children of the three eldest gods. So if this prophecy comes to pass, one of you three will be the one."_

 _Things started to come together for Thalia and a dark thought crossed her mind, "You're hoping to use one of us, whichever is willing to do what you want. You want to destroy Olympus, don't you?"_

 _Perseus' lips curled and a smile crept onto his lips again, this one making Thalia shiver._

 **Now…**

"You can go to Tartarus if you think I'd ever help you!" Thalia spat at him. If this guy thought she was going to do his bidding, he had another thing coming.

Perseus' eyes got a faraway look in them and his smile turned into a frown. Not an angry expression, just kind of sad.

"I'd prefer to avoid that, again." He said blankly. "You have no idea what that place is like, especially for an Olympian God… Or a former one." He stared off like he was lost in memories.

There were multiple things in his statement that made her eyes bug out a little. She tried to respond but the only thing that came out was a strangled noise that sounded more like a grunt. She composed herself and managed a weak, "What?"

"Yes," Perseus' eyes seemed to come back into focus. "Hell of a father we have, eh?"

"You were an Olympian?" She found her voice, it was laced with disbelief.

He just shrugged, "Long ago. It doesn't really matter though; it's been so long since I was that god that I barely remember it."

"Because Zeus sent threw you in Tartarus?"

Perseus didn't answer but his silence was confirmation enough.

Thalia didn't really know what to say after that. Her own feelings about Zeus were certainly mixed but she had no intention of letting him know that.

"You probably deserved worse." She finally came out with.

"Perhaps," he sounded like he honestly wasn't sure. "But we are not here to drudge up old memories."

"What are we here for?" The young boy Nico asked, his first words outside of a sob since Thalia had first seen him.

"To learn, young Nico." Bianca put an arm around her brother protectively trying to show that whatever he wanted to do to Nico would not be done without going through her first. Perseus just sighed like he was tired, "But not today. Today has been long enough for all of you. I will let Thalia answer the many questions you two might have. I think a little rest is in order, the upstairs belongs to you three, you can figure out the sleeping arrangements. There's a kitchen," he pointed to a room off to their left. "Anything you want to eat, you need only think it and it will appear, same with beverages. You can go out to the beach if you like but trying to escape would be pointless. Wherever you try to run, you will only arrive back here. I'm sure you will try but I assure you, you won't get far."

"It's the middle of the day, we don't sleep during the day." Thalia pointed out, not even sure why she cared to tell him that.

He just smiled and the sun vanished from the sky.

"I am the God of Night and I can choose when and for how long it remains night here. I'm afraid I have other business to attend to, so you three can get acclimated with each other and this home."

With those words his body melted into the chair and he vanished.

 **Line Break**

 _A young dark haired child ran through the heavily wooded forest. He moved with such speed that he was barely more than a blur, a wisp of shadow that would be missed unless you were looking for it at the exact right time. The forest seemed like a second home to him; he knew every tree, every rock, and every low hanging branch he could use to swing himself over roots or bushes._

 _A second blur, this one moving just as quickly and like it was in hot pursuit of the first, streaked through the forest at impossible speeds. This one was silver and it followed almost an identical path as the first but out of this one, steaks of silver light, silver arrows flew at the first, all missing catching the darker one by milliseconds or mere inches._

 _At times, the scene would slow down, like it was paused and the face of the silver blur could be seen. A girl no older than twelve, Auburn hair flowing wildly behind her as she fired arrow after arrow, trying to catch her prey from behind._

 _But the darker blur, the young boy about the same age seemed to have eyes in the back of his head. Just as the silver arrows looked like they were about to hit him, he would cut to one side, letting them fly harmlessly into a tree._

 _He took a hard right behind a tree and three silver arrows thudded deep into the trunk to which he allowed himself a small smirk of satisfaction. He turned, looking for his pursuer only to realize it wasn't behind him anymore. He turned back in front of him just as the silver blur came out of nowhere and upended him by diving straight into his knees and sending him flipping end over end into another tree. The tree snapped in half, along with two more after it as his body crashed through them._

 _This of course would be impossible for a normal boy. But this was obviously no normal child. Even after the brutal crash landing, he rolled a few times and came to a stop in front of a large tree stump. His eyes were wide and he looked dazed. But within seconds, his black eyes snapped back into focus and he raised his hand, a dark sword appearing in it out of nowhere. The auburn haired girl slashed with two hunting knives, trying to take his head off, or so it seemed._

 _The boy blocked her strike and spun his body around, sweeping her legs right out from under her. Just as she hit the ground, his sandaled foot kicked her hard in the face. She rolled away and jumped to her feet. When she opened her mouth, her teeth were stained gold with ichor, the blood of the immortals._

 _Just as she tensed, ready to attack again, a woman's voice rang out through the woods._

" _Artemissss! Perseusssss!" The voice sounded distant but still clearly heard. The auburn haired girl lowered her weapons and they vanished from her hands. Suddenly her lips twisted into a wicked looking grin with all the ichor in her mouth._

" _A good chase, brother. You are getting better Perseus."_

 _The boy's sword vanished and his own expression turned pleasant as he chuckled lightly._

" _Sorry about that kick to the face." From his tone, he regretted nothing about it but the girl's smile just grew._

" _I promise you'll regret that next time, little brother."_

 _Perseus just rolled his eyes, "How about next time, I get to be the hunter and you the prey?"_

 _Artemis laughed like the thought was amusing, "But you are so good at being prey, why would I want to lose my favorite training tool?"_

 _Perseus scowled at her teasing but it wasn't angry, more annoyed like he had heard this response more times than he cared to remember. Artemis noticed his expression and smiled deviously._

" _I'll make a deal with you, brother. You beat me back to mother and it will be as you say tomorrow. Is that not fair?"_

 _He seemed intrigued by this, "Swear to it?"_

 _She nodded, "On the Styx, you have my word."_

 _Thunder rumbling in the distance and before she could react, Perseus' foot connected with her chest, sending her flying backwards and crashing into a tree. She hit hard and the sound of the impact could be heard for hundreds of yards. By the time she hit the ground, Perseus was gone, a blur moving through the forest at speeds only possible by immortals._

 _Surprisingly, Artemis just grinned at this and sped off in pursuit, determined to beat him there and keep him as her personal trophy prey._

Thalia woke with a start.

As her vision came into focus, she realized with a depressing sigh that everything from the day before had in fact happened. She was kidnapped; stuck with two children of Hades who had kept her up all night with questions about gods, their father, their mother, Perseus, half-bloods and just about anything else that came into their heads.

She'd tried to make a run for it but just as Perseus said, no matter which direction she ran in, she would end up right outside of their little beach house. Once she'd given up, she found the Di Angelos in the kitchen, taking full advantage of the enchanted kitchen. Despite the feeling like she was betraying herself, she was too hungry not to sit down next to them. Of course that turned out to be a mistake because that was when the questioning started.

She'd managed to get through the whole, _the gods are real, you're a demigod and yes, you probably have cool powers or something_ spiel. She had to walk them into a bedroom with two beds and coax them into bed before she could slip out and escape Nico's annoying pestering about super god powers and whatnot.

She'd found another room a couple doors down and decided to go inside… Just to start to figure out how exactly she was going to get out there. But in the end, her body had betrayed her and she lost her battle with Morpheus.

She didn't know how long she slept; the dream had only seemed like it lasted a few minutes but then again, that wasn't a very accurate way to measure her sleep time. All she knew was that she was figuring out how to get out of there, if it was the last thing she did.

 **Line Break**

Artemis found the entire council gathered when she appeared on Olympus. She had sent her hunters to Camp Half-Blood along with the satyr and demigod Luke. Although she hated sending them alone, she had little choice with Zeus calling an immediate meeting of the council.

When she walked through the doors of the throne room, the mood was immediately evident. No one spoke; they all sat in a tense silence, obviously waiting for her arrival. She grew to her godly height and got to her throne quickly. Once she was seated, she found most eyes on her. Some tried to hide their stares but her father, Zeus, made no effort to avert his piercing eyes.

"Apollo has informed us that _he_ has returned. Tell me daughter, what happened?"

Artemis looked like she was going to say something but then changed her mind and waved her hand. An image appeared in the middle of the room showing the scene outside Westover Hall. It began when the hunters arrived and finished with Perseus disappearing with the three demigods.

It was hard to miss the looks she was sent after her fight with Perseus. She couldn't tell if they were pity or perhaps worry that he could have killed her. She honestly didn't care about any of their thoughts; she was far more concerned with her own internal struggles.

She'd secretly prayed for centuries for a chance to see her little brother again only for the cruel Fates to make it such a bittersweet reunion. She was relieved he was still alive and very much in control of his domains, clearly not in danger of fading. But the way he'd fought her… They'd always fought each other hard but this time was different. He would have killed her if he'd gotten the chance. She didn't doubt that. Those cold black eyes that used to soften for her showed nothing. There was no recognition, not even anger, just an indifference that cut deeper than any other emotion could. She would have welcomed anger or hatred; it would have showed he felt something. But to him, she was merely another foe, no different than he viewed a monster standing in the way of something he wanted.

She wasn't sure if it was possible to feel worse than she did. She couldn't blame him for hating her but she'd done what she thought was right. The way things unfolded weren't what she wanted but she couldn't lie to herself, she'd brought this on herself.

"Artemis!" Zeus shouted snapping her out of her mental anguish. She looked up and found her father looking concerned and perhaps a little suspicious, like he guessed what she'd been thinking about.

"Yes father, I'm sorry, I am weary from the fight with Pers…"

"Don't say his name." Zeus cut her off. "It's fine but do you understand what you need to do?"

She tried to hide the frown that forced its way onto her face.

"Hunt him." She made sure to steel herself and sound stoic. "He must be found."

Zeus nodded and watched her for a few more seconds before apparently seeming satisfied she meant what she said.

"Thalia must be found and rescued; it is your top priority."

Hera huffed indignantly but Zeus appeared to be in no mood for one of her fits.

"She is vital to Olympus!" He snapped at his wife. "She is the child of the prophecy. We cannot allow her to be influenced by outside forces."

"Father, Per.." Artemis stopped herself knowing saying his name would only enflame Zeus' anger. "He's not going to be easy to find. He is a skilled hunter and knows how to hide when he doesn't wish to be found."

"You have trained your hunters for millennia," he countered. "Surely they will be of some use to you in this task."

Artemis felt a surge of panic well up inside her at the thought of her maidens hunting for Perseus. She'd seen how ruthless he could be and couldn't put her hunters in that kind of danger. A monster was one thing but Perseus was a god, possibly the most dangerous god there was if what she'd seen was any indication of what to expect.

"They are no match for a god," she explained and Zeus looked annoyed by her resistance.

"What are you saying daughter? Are you unable to hunt him? Is he beyond even your power to track?" He knew exactly which buttons to push on Artemis to get what he wanted.

Her eyes flashed but she controlled the snarl she wanted to unleash at her father. This was her little brother, of course he wasn't beyond her skills.

"Perhaps a more divine hunting party would quicken his capture," she offered. "He is skilled but not beyond my skill. I only ask for help, for the sake of Thalia." She was not so easily played. She could manipulate Zeus just as easily as he could her.

"What do you need?" Zeus was getting irritated with the conversation and just wanted to get to the point so they could get started on finding his daughter. "Ares," he barked.

"No," Artemis interjected. "Ares is a fool. With his clumsy lumbering, it would take years to find Thalia. Two companions are all I need; Athena will help us outsmart Perseus and Hermes' speed will make sure he cannot escape once found."

Ares stood up red faced and ready to protest but Dionysus just waved his hand lazily, wrapping the war god in grape vines and pinning him back to his throne.

"The sooner you shut up, the sooner we can be done with this nonsense." Dionysus drawled, showing no interest in the problem at hand.

Zeus ignored Dionysus' comment and Ares' struggling and seemed to consider this.

"Very well Artemis." He leaned forward in his throne and looked directly into her silver eyes. "Do not fail me."

Artemis gulped at the veiled threat and nodded her consent.

"You leave at once. I wish him caught before the Winter Solstice."

With that, Zeus adjourned the meeting and vanished in a bolt of lightning. A number of the other Olympians shot Artemis looks of sympathy before they too vanished from the throne room until only the three from the hunting pack remained.

Hermes looked less than thrilled to be part of this mission while Athena already looked thoughtful.

Artemis had no idea what she was going to do; all she knew was that no matter what she decided, it was going to end badly for her.

 **A.N: Short filler but needed to be done. Can't have every chapter be action packed excitement but I have many interesting plans for this story, we'll see which ones I still like when I get that far.**

 **Thanks for reading… Suggestions are always welcome.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Ch. 5**

Thalia sat on a stool in front of the kitchen counter. A bacon, egg and cheese sandwich sat partially eaten in front of her as she enjoyed the silence of the home as the two children of Hades continued to sleep.

Her mind was racing with thoughts of how she was going to escape this rather benign prison to which she and the two younger demigods had been taken. In another situation, she would likely have enjoyed this place, a break from the monotony of Camp Half-Blood. It was peaceful and actually quite beautiful if she really thought about it.

The dream of Perseus and Artemis from their childhood also played in her mind.

The way they'd interacted and played, it was clear they had been close. It made his reaction to her mention make more sense as well. When he'd been banished from Olympus, it was her betrayal that had hurt him the most.

She almost caught herself feeling sympathetic for him before she reminded herself that he'd taken her prisoner, even if her surroundings seemed nothing like a jail.

"Not hungry?"

She almost fell backwards off her stooll when Perseus appeared on the other side of the counter, eyeing her plate curiously.

"Gods!" She growled as she caught herself. "Don't do that, you creep!"

Her words were harsh but they didn't sour his expression. He reached over and grabbed the remains of her sandwich and took a big bite before setting it back on her plate.

"Didn't mean to startle you," he said with a mouth full of food.

Thalia glared at him, "Do I look like I care about your intentions? You kidnapped me. You should just kill me and get it over with because I will never help you."

Perseus began to play with a ring on his left ring finger, spinning it around the digit absentmindedly.

"You have me all figured out, don't you?"

Thalia shoved her plate towards him. It slid across the countertop and hit him in the chest before dropping and smashing on the floor.

Perseus looked down at it lazily and then waved his hand and the plate materialized back in front of her, the partially eaten sandwich sitting there like it'd never moved. She shoved it at him again but this time he caught it, stopping the plate in front of him and grabbing the sandwich again and finishing it in two quick bites.

"I don't want to figure you out! You're a creep who kidnaps kids and takes them to your creepy little beach house because you're a psycho!"

He raised an eyebrow as he swallowed down the last of her breakfast.

"You know, you should work on your people skills. I have every intention of letting you return to your little camp."

That surprised Thalia but she covered it up with a sneer.

"Good! Then send us back!"

Perseus raised a finger, "You can return. The other two cannot go to Camp Half-Blood or are you really naive enough to think Zeus would allow two demigod children of Hades live amongst the rest of his little pawns?"

Thalia opened her mouth to snap back at him but her tongue failed her. She didn't actually haver a retort to that comment. She had heard plenty about children of Hades and her father would undoubtedly do something to make sure they were not a threat.

"Fine! I don't even know them! Just send me back!"

He just leaned back and his stool transformed into it a large leather chair.

"In time. I cannot simply return you, it would not be safe for you."

She growled under her breath, "Shut up! Camp is my home! Its the only safe place for me!"

Perseus gave her a somewhat bored expression.

"And when the gods ask what I wanted you for and you don't have an answer... then what? They just take you at your word? You demigods these days are not familiar with the true nature of the gods."

He had kicked his feet up, the foot rest rising up as he sat with his hands in his lap. He continued to play with the ring on his finger which only made Thalia's frustration grow.

"What is that? Are you married? Let me guess, your wife left you when you betrayed the gods too?"

A chill ran down her spine when a look of rage crossed his face, though it was gone as quickly as it appeared.

"Don't speak about things you know nothing of, child." He kept his tone even but Thalia could tell she'd struck a nerve.

"You kidnapped me! I'll say whatever I want!" Thalia was rolling now. She wanted nothing more than to make this insufferable immortal as upset as possible. "Oh no! Poor, Perseus, dumped by his wife and now he just wallows around with only his ring to remember her by! Boo Fricken Hoo!"

Perseus jumped to his feet, both his hands smashing into the kitchen counter between them. The marble top erupted as it was smashed to pieces. Thalia stood up and backed away as fast as she could but Perseus was in front of her in an instant. He grabbed her by the front of her shirt and picked her up off the ground, shoving her into the far wall as he put his face inches from hers.

"DON'T YOU DARE SPEAK TO ME LIKE YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT ME OR WHAT I'VE ENDURED. I'VE SUFFERED ENOUGH PAIN THAT YOUR LITTLE MORTAL FORM WOULD DISINTEGRATE IF YOU HAD TO ENDURE JUST A FRACTION OF IT!"

Tears streaked down her eyes from the sheer terror of his rage.

"YOU WANT TO PLAY THE TOUGH GIRL CARD? LET'S SEE JUST HOW TOUGH YOU ARE!"

Before she could respond, they both vanished in a swirl of black energy, leaving only the remains of the countertop and a crack in the wall as evidence of their struggle.

 **-X-**

The three Olympians had been hunting Perseus for over a solstice was only a few days away and they were no closer to capturing him than they'd been when they began. They would find his trail and follow it for a couple days only to lose him right as they thought they were closing in. Their failures were beginning to weigh on the group as they all had different opinions of what they should do.

"I will never forgive you for this Artemis." Hermes growled as they stood in the middle of a forest of redwoods in northern California. "The fact you thought I would want to help you shows me how little you've changed."

Artemis narrowed her silver eyes at the god of messengers but did not respond.

"Are you that much of a fool to think that was an accident?" Athena asked condescendingly. "Oh my, you really are that stupid." The goddess feigned laughter though she did not find anything about this humorous.

"Ohhhh!" Hermes smiled sardonically. "And you, the brilliant Athena! You, I understand quite well. You present yourself as Zeus' brilliant strategist but you are nothing but a petty little Daddy's girl. I'm sure nothing would please you more than to bring him back in chains to Daddy dearest."

Athena's grey eyes turned icy. She took a step towards Hermes but Artemis cut in before this could escalate further.

"Quiet! Both of you!" She snapped. "Yes Hermes, I am well aware of your feelings about this. I did not consider your feelings because their is little I care less about in this world than keeping you happy."

Hermes opened his mouth to say something when Athena cut him off.

"Wait!" Her eyes were narrowed as she scanned the area around them. "We're being watched."

Artemis and Hermes both followed Athena's eyes, they all sensed what she'd felt and their skin crawled at the sensation of being surveyed.

"It's probably just Zeus..." Hermes began but then stopped when a figure materialized twenty feet in front of him. But unlike Athena, his face fell when he laid eyes on it.

"By Chaos, you three squabble like little children. To think, you actually thought you could track me down."

Perseus leaned against a Redwood and eyed the three Olympians with distaste.

"I see you didn't grow any smarter in your exile, Perseus." Athena's face was full of satisfaction as she knew he wouldn't be able to elude them now.

"What? You think you've won? Perhaps you will capture me. Of course to do that, you'd have to make a sacrifice I don't think you're ready to make."

Athena's eyes narrowed and Perseus waved his hand. A mist formed and inside it was sight that made both Hermes and Athena pale.

 _Annabeth and Luke both stood in chains inside a dark cavern. The only light in the room came from a swirling vortex coming through a hole in the top of the cavern. The vortex came down and rested on the shoulders of a dark haired girl in tattered clothes. Her face was beaded with sweat and her body looked like it was slowly being crushed under the weight being forced on it._

 _Thalia Grace tried to push through the pain but her body was already failing her._

 _Suddenly, a large man in a silk suit stepped from the shadows laughing at the daughter of Zeus' agony._

 _"Such spirit in this one!" The giant cackled. "But it appears that even she will break under such a burden!"_

 _"Let her go!" Luke screamed and tried to run towards Thalia. His shackles were yanked backwards hard and he landed roughly on his back._

 _"No, no no." The man laughed. "There will be none of that. You will sit here and watch her slowly be crushed under the weight of the sky, a burden I held for millennia!"_

 _"What do you want?" Annabeth sobbed as she looked between her friend and the Titan Atlas._

 _His lips curled into a cruel smile, "To give you a choice, of course. This girl won't survive the hour, the strength of a mortal cannot withstand the burden for long. But perhaps, if you are willing, the three of you will be able to survive the weight long enough for your replacements to be found."_

 _"Annabeth," Thalia whimpered. "Don't. Do. It." The words came out as grunts before she dropped to a knee, unable to stand under the weight any longer._

 _"I'll do it!" Luke yelled as he struggled back to his feet. "Free me and I will join her!"_

 _"I will too. The gods will come. They will free us and put you back where you belong!" Annabeth snapped._

 _Thalia shook her head but she couldn't even get the words out to protest their decision._

 _Atlas smiled and rubbed his hands together, "I so very hope you're right." He snapped his fingers and the shackles binding both demigods vanished. They both raced forward and crawled beside Thalia. They both got into crouches and raised their hands as they pushed with everything they had. Slowly, the burden was raised until Thalia was able to rise from her knee._

 _Atlas began laughing hysterically as he watched his three new prisoners stuck under the burden their godly parents had forced him to endure._

The image vanished and Perseus crossed his arms as he grinned at the three stunned Olympians.

"Guess you have a choice," he chuckled. "Capture me and bring me back to Zeus, or come to Othrys and save your children from certain death."

Perseus melted into the shadow of the redwood and vanished from sight.

Neither Hermes nor Athena spoke. Instead, they went supernova and vanished from the woods. They reappeared in front of Othrys and immediately looked up to find Perseus standing beside their children as they strained to not be crushed under the sky.

"I swear that if it is with my last breath, I will destroy you for this!" Athena spat as she took a step towards her daughter. A golden net dropped from above and ensnared the goddess before she could get any closer.

Atlas appeared beside the goddess grinning manically. He grabbed the net and pulled it away, leaving Hermes staring in disbelief at Perseus who was now holding a stick in his hand. He poked Luke in the ribs and almost made him lose his grip. All three demigods whimpered as the weight shifted a little. Streaks of grey ran through their hair as they struggled.

"Hmm," Perseus chuckled. "Let's see if they can survive that again." He made to poke Luke again when Hermes shouted.

"No! Stop this Perseus, please!"

Perseus pulled the stick back and used it to scratch his back.

"We both know there is only one way for you to save them, Hermes. Take their place and I swear on the River Styx, I will let them free."

Thunder rumbled overhead and Hermes closed his eyes, a look of defeat covering his face.

"This is wrong, Perseus."

"Perhaps," Perseus surmised. "But let's just say a few millennia in exile can really distort ones view of right and wrong. Make your choice Hermes or we'll see how ticklish your boy is."

Perseus placed the stick near Luke's ribs.

"Okay! I'll do it!" Hermes yelled. "Just stop!"

Perseus grinned and waved his hand towards the demigods, showing Hermes the way in. The god of messengers stepped up the where the sky was being held from the earth. He gave Perseus a look of pleading but the god of night did not relent.

Hermes stepped under the burden and raised his hands as the veins in his arms started popping from his skin. He used his leg and shoved the three demigods out from under the sky, taking the full weight himself.

Hermes almost lost his grip on the sky when the images of the three demigods shimmered. They merged together until they formed into the single form of a hulking figure.

The Titan Atlas rolled over, panting heavily but a huge grin spread across his face. Perseus leaned down and offered his hand, which the Titan took gratefully. Perseus pulled him to his feet and the two embraced briefly.

"What the..." Hermes was too stunned to even get the question out.

Perseus ignored him as he and Atlas grinned at each other.

"I had my doubts," Atlas admitted.

"I told you it would work. Hecate's illusions are good enough to fool even the gods."

A beautiful dark haired woman appeared beside the two immortals with a golden net containing one enraged wisdom goddess.

"Nicely done, Hecate. Everything worked perfectly." Perseus complimented. "Now, with Athena captured and Hermes stuck under the sky, we can begin preparations for war."

"What have you done, Perseus?" Hermes groaned from under his new burden.

Perseus finally looked up at him, his smile threatening to split his face in two.

"What does it look like? We're going to destroy the gods and replace them under our new king, the soon to rise Lord Kronos."

"You'll never succeed you fool!" Athena bellowed from inside her golden net. Perseus took a step forward and kicked the goddess right in the face, sending her flat on her back.

"I've waited for more than two millennia to say this to you," Perseus growled as he leaned down close to her face. "Shut the fuck up, Athena."

 **A.N: Plot twist anyone?**


	6. Chapter 6

Ch. 6

Perseus watched as Athena glowered up at him. Golden ichor leaked from her mouth thanks to the vicious kick he'd used to shut her up. Perhaps a younger version of himself would have felt some kind of sympathy for his sister but he felt nothing but satisfaction at the fear he saw shining through her brave facade.

He turned his head as he sensed another presence. He immediately looked at Atlas but he seemed too preoccupied with taunting Hermes to feel it. His body melted into shadow and vanished without a sound.

He reappeared some ways down the mountain and his eyes narrowed.

He caight a glimmer of auburn in the waning light behind a large boulder. He moved slowly, taking care to mask his power and scent as he approached. When he was ten feet away, his lips curled into a cruel smile.

"My, my, aren't we the curious cat?"

Artemis spun around and the look on her face was that of a cornered, wild animal.

"No need to run." He assured her. "I have no desire to capture you. After all, I need someone to run back to Daddy and tell him what's happened."

Artemis' silver eyes seemed dull, defeated as she looked at him.

"Percy..."

He moved with speed impossible for mortal eyes to follow. He slammed his forearm into her throat and pinned her against the boulder.

"Say that name again and I will hunt every one of your precious hunters down and give them to Atlas as entertainment!" He snarled at her.

Artemis swallowed with great difficulty but she didn't resist. She seemed almost resigned to whatever Perseus wanted to do to her.

"You lost the right to ever call me that name!" His face was mere inches from hers and she had to close her eyes to keep the tears at bay.

"You... You don't... understand." Each word was pained as she had to push them through the force he had on her throat.

He grabbed her by the shirt and tossed her behind him. She crashed to the ground hard and rolled a few feet before coming to a stop on her hands and knees.

"Be silent," he spat. "I would cut the ears from my own head if it meant I never had to hear your voice again."

Her eyes shined as the tears threatened to break through. But the only thing she found was his dark, unforgiving glare glowering down at her.

"You can't possibly," her voice caught and she swallowed hard. "The Titans will betray you." Her words were pleading, sounding nothing like they'd come from the mouth of the proud and mighty Artemis.

Instead of snapping back, he threw his head back and laughed loudly.

"What's that mortal phrase about people in glass houses?" He sneered.

Artemis' head dropped making him laugh again, though their was no amusement in his voice.

"Exactly. Go! Report of Zeus. Warn him that this is just the beginning. Everything you gods have built over past two millennia will come crashing down. And at the moment when you watch everything you love burn to ash, I'll be there, roasting marshmallows over the burning ruins of Olympus."

The god of night slipped into the shadow of the mountain and left her alone to sob quietly until she disappeared in a flash of silver.

-X-

Thalia sat with her head in her arms, her knees tucked into her chest as the sun began to set on her island prison.

She had tried so many times that her legs had given out. No matter what, she was helpless to escape this cursed beach. When Perseus had grabbed her, she'd thought she was about to die. But to her shock, she appeared in this spot, no sign of her psychotic immortal kidnapper. No matter which direction she ran, she always ended up in this spot.

The two children of Hades had found her there, crying in frustration and immediately ran back to the house after a bolt of lightning had hit the spot between them and her. She felt guilty about it but couldn't control herself as her breaking point was reached. They'd seemingly got the hint and left her to herself. And for hours, she'd sat in this same position, unable to find the will to pick herself up.

"Get. Up."

A shiver ran down her spine. It was the voice she'd been dreading for hours. One she wished she never had to hear again.

"Get up, demigod." The voice snarled.

Before she had a chance to obey, she was yanked up by the back of her shirt, lifted right off her feet. She flinched when she found the cold, dark eyes of Perseus glaring at her.

"I...I'm... I'm sorry." She cried, scared he had decided to come back and follow through on his threat.

"Shut up." He growled. "I have no time for stupid little girls and their stupid little ideas of how the world works."

He dropped her back onto the sand and she scrambled backwards on her hands.

"Please," she whimpered. "I didn't..."

"You want to go back to your camp?" He snapped. "Fine. Get up and you can die with the rest of the pawns."

Before she could respond, he jumped towards her, grabbing her shoulder before her vision turned black until she felt herself land roughly on the ground.

She looked up as Perseus turned away.

"Wait," she blurted out. "What about the other two? Let them go too!"

He froze in his place before slowly turning his eyes back to her.

"Are you telling me what to do, demigod?" He spat, taking a menacing step in her direction.

Before she could answer, a new voice interrupted them.

"Hey!" She turned and immediately felt a surge of panic. One of the older Ares campers, a boy named Jackson was running in their direction. He was one of the few children of Ares who she could actually stand to be around.

"Get away from her!" He yelled, a broadsword gripped in his hand. Perseus didn't even acknowledge him, keeping his harsh gaze on Thalia.

"Wait!" She yelled to Jackson. "Jack stop!" Her warning was too late. The child of Ares put the point of his sword into Perseus' back. She watched as the god's eyes narrowed, somehow appearing to darken.

"You best be prepared to use that, child. Or that stupid head of yours is going to be separated from the rest of your body."

Jackson prodded him in the back, "Get away from her or I'll run you through!"

Thalia's mouth opened to warn him but Perseus' eyes flashed and her voice was gone. His lips curled into an evil smile, his eyes never leaving hers.

"Oh my, is that a challenge I hear?" His words were calm, his tone even.

"If you want a fight..." The son of Ares said before Perseus spun around, his sword appearing in his hands and moving so fast that it was almost imperceptible. Thalia's mouth dropped open as Jackson opened his mouth to respond. But instead of speaking, a sliver of red appeared in a straight line across his throat, slowly thickening before his head tilted to the right. His body though, its collapsed the complete opposite direction, his head sliding off and toppling to the ground and rolling a few feet away.

It came to a stop, his eyes still open and wide, staring right at Thalia who was frozen in place.

"I guess old Chiron never warned him about challenging an immortal." Perseus' smile was cruel, mocking.

That was when she screamed.

Her voice had returned and the blood curdling sound carried through the relatively quiet camp.

Demigods came scrambling from all directions. Their weapons were drawn, letting out battle cries as they saw Perseus looming over Thalia.

"NO!" Chiron's voice carried over all others. He galloped ahead of the campers and spread his arms as he came to a skidding halt a few yards from Perseus.

To his great relief, the campers heeded his word and stopped before they got any closer, some of them screaming when they saw the decapitated body of Jackson lying on the ground, blood pooling around it.

Perseus slowly turned, his smile big and his arms open.

"Chiron, Chiron," he wagged his finger at the centaur who held his bow in hand but was careful not to draw and arrow. "Demigod training 101. Never challenge an immortal unless you plan to fight them to the death." He chided, a small smile tugging at his lips.

"By the gods," Chiron looked from the dead child of Ares back to Perseus. "What have you done?"

Perseus' smile grew and he spread his arms, "Me? I'm only here to help. The gods would keep their heroes in the dark, I am here to enlighten these fine half-bloods."

Chiron cantered back and forth, his eyes darting around to make sure none of his students did something foolish.

"Leave this place!" Chiron demanded. "You no longer have a place amongst the gods!"

Perseus frowned though it was a feigned expression.

"Of course, my old friend, but first, a warning." Perseus turned his eyes and scanned the crowd of demigods, all watching the exchange between Chiron and this strange being warily. "An important choice approaches heroes. A new power is rising and sides must be chosen. I have already captured Hermes and Athena, more gods will soon fall. They will hide behind you mortals and make you fight their war."

When he said Hermes and Athena had been captured, the demigods let out a collective gasp; some calling him a liar, others looking nervously at the demigod children of both gods.

"Many of you will follow the course of young Thalia." He continued over their nervous murmuring. "And most of you, will die. I offer a different choice. You need not fight the wars of immortals! Lay down arms and let Zeus come fight his own battle!"

Thunder boomed overhead. Perseus looked up at the sky briefly, then just smiled.

"Think on my words. Every drop of demigod blood breaks my heart. I wish none of you harm. But also know, I will slay every single demigod on earth, if I must, to rid the world of the gods' rule."

Perseus vanished just as a monstrous bolt of lightning dropped from the sky. It hit the spot where he'd been standing and blasted back anything within twenty feet. Dozens of demigods were injured; some bleeding; some with limbs bent in unnatural angles; most singed and dazed; a few unmoving. Thalia had been knocked backwards but was unfazed by the lightning. She looked in horror at her friends. Many lay screaming in pain while others lay lifeless. Her heart broke at the sight of such destruction.

"Do you not see?" A voice whispered in her ear. "Zeus cares so little for the mortals that serve him that he would fell dozens just in an attempt to injure me."

Thalia's head spun around, searching for Perseus but finding no sign of him.

"What I do, I do for the betterment of the world. Tread lightly daughter of Zeus because he shall soon send you to die in his fruitless attempts to stop me."

The voice trailed off until it was just a faint whisper, floating through the air and being carried away.

Thalia looked around, her eyes moist as she saw first hand what the gods were capable of, all of them.

 **A.N: Short chapter.. But I had a full chapter written for my Destinies book, then accidently deleted it on that stupid FF app. That got deleted. Fuck FF dot net. Wattpad FTW!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Ch. 7**

Over the next week, Thalia Grace struggled to acclimate herself to normal life in Camp Half Blood again. Despite the fact that her abduction was brief, it had shaken the daughter of Zeus. After everything she'd seen and been through, she just couldn't slip back into the daily schedule of demigod training.

She kept seeing the decapitated head of Jackson staring at her, eyes wide and mouth open, like he was calling out for her to save him. The image of his murder replayed over and over in her head as she thought about what she could have done to save him.

 _Perhaps if she hadn't sent Perseus into a rage, Jackson would still be alive._

 _Maybe if she'd been braver, she could have warned him before he could attack a god._

 _But she did nothing. She had been curled up like a scared child and just watched dumbstruck as one of her friends was slain right in front of her._

 _She was a coward._

During the days, she often kept to herself and excused herself from lessons. Chiron had told her it was her decision on what activities she would go to. The old centaur was sympathetic after her ordeal, though he did suggest she try to keep active during the days in order to help her put it all behind her. He didn't press her on details and she was quite grateful for that.

Luke had tried to broach the subject but he gave up quickly when he was zapped after putting a hand on his friend's shoulder. She tried to apologize but he'd taken care to avoid her for the next few days.

Despite feeling guilty for hurting him, she was actually happy that she was left in peace. She really didn't want to talk to anyone about what'd happened yet. Whenever she did emerge from her cabin, to eat or shower, she could feel the probing eyes of her fellow campers, whispering to each other and then averting their eyes when she'd look at them.

But the days were the least of her problems.

Her nights were a million times worse. Every night, she would find herself returning to the place of her dream about Perseus and Artemis. Like her first dream, she would often just watch as they played in the forest, both just mere godlings, not looking any older than she was. Other times, she found herself looking through the eyes of the goddess herself, sitting in a secluded pocket of forest and just talking and laughing with Perseus. It wasn't hard for her to see the connection the two shared.

She would wake in a cold sweat, feeling like she'd just closed her eyes only to find the sun risen and the sounds of demigods beginning their days outside her cabin.

She struggled to comprehend everything in her dreams or why she was even having them. The god that'd taken her was nothing like the joyous and playful boy that haunted her dreams.

But then she figured being cast into Tartarus had that effect on a person, even a god.

The hunters had appeared in camp a few days after they'd burned the shroud for Jackson. That only gave her less incentive to come out of her cabin. For the most part, the hunters kept to themselves, eating at the Artemis table and only talking amongst themselves. Well, with the exception of one.

Every time she would raise her eyes from her meal, she would catch the dark, piercing eyes of Zoe Nightshade staring at her. As soon as she noticed she'd been caught, she'd turn away and join her fellow huntresses in conversation. But with near certainty, Thalia would catch the huntress eyeing her again, making her feel even less comfortable in camp.

She'd met Zoe Nightshade before, while on the run with Luke, Annabeth and Grover. She'd almost convinced Thalia to join the hunt before Luke had talked her out of it. Part of her now wondered if maybe it would have been better if she'd taken Zoe's offer all those years ago.

On top of all of that, they gods had gone silent. Dionysus had vanished from camp and Chiron had been less than clear on the reason for his absence or the happenings of the gods. She hated the way they kept her in the dark. Her bitterness only grew as she recalled the prophecy Perseus told her. If it was true, she was going to die to save Olympus anyway... The least they could do was keep her updated on the status of her current death sentence.

Perseus' claim of capturing Athena and Hermes was still the talk of camp, even a week later. Chiron had assured them that it wasn't possible but even he didn't sound convinced that it was a lie. The fact that Artemis had dumped the hunters off in camp made Thalia sure that things were going badly on Olympus.

Thalia peaked her head out the window of the Zeus cabin. She could see the campers preparing for their weekly game of capture the flag. With the hunters in camp, the game would be a continuance of the decades old rivalry with the hunters. Currently, the demigods were zero for eternity. But like always, their spirits were high at the prospect of ending the hunt's winning streak.

Thalia had made a point to stay inside all day. The last thing she wanted was to go into a deadly game with Zoe Nightshade on the opposite side. The way she had looked at her made Thalia feel like being on the opposite side of Zoe's bow was not a good life choice.

She jumped when she heard her door thump loudly. She cursed under her breath as she slowly climbed out of her bed. She slipped on her boots and opened the door.

Chiron was standing in front of her cabin, armed with his bow and medical supplies, his usual attire as referee for capture the flag.

"Thalia, my dear." His smile didn't quite seem to reach his eyes. "It is almost time for the game to start. You should be getting ready."

She didn't meet his gaze. She didn't want to see the disapproval in it.

"I... Uh... I'm not really feeling good Chiron." She said and started to close her door. Chiron's hand reached out and stopped it before it could close. It forced her to look up at him.

"My poor girl," the genuine sympathy in his voice broke her heart a little. "I know it's been a difficult time for you. But you'll never be able to move past this by hiding in your cabin. You need to come out, interact with your friends, return to your life."

She couldn't help but frown, "I know, Chiron." She rubbed the back of her head. "I... I just don't think I'm ready." She sounded pathetic and she knew it.

He held out his hand to her, "You'll never know if you don't try. Come, join me. You can serve as a referee with me."

She looked at his hand for a moment. She hated how much his argument made sense. Why did he always have to make so much sense? It made coming up with an excuse nearly impossible.

"Okay," she sighed. "Let me get dressed. I'll be out in a minute."

This time, his smile seemed less forced as he nodded and backed away from the door.

The string of curses she whispered under her breath would have earned her stable duties for the next month as she slipped into a pair of ripped jeans and Green Day t-shirt. She grabbed a black hoody and slipped it on, throwing the hood up as she stepped out of her cabin. She kept her head down and made her way over to Chiron who was waiting at the edge of the cabin area.

When she reached him, she was shocked when he lowered himself to the ground, giving her a small smile as he offered her a ride of his back. Chiron _never_ let people ride of his back. She kind of figured it was a pride thing; a way to make clear that he was a centaur, not a horse.

"Hop on, child." He said assuredly. "The game will begin shortly."

She tried to be careful as she sat down but then nearly fell off when he raised himself up and began to trot in the direction of the forest. When they made it there, a small group of campers lead by Luke and a small group of hunters, lead by Zoe Nightshade were waiting on opposite sides of the creek.

"I believe you all know the rules." Chiron said loudly. The creek is the boundary line. The entire forest is fair game. Flags must be prominently displayed and can have no more than two guards. Prisoners may be disarmed but not bound and gagged." At that Chiron gave a meaningful look towards the hunters. The two behind Zoe snickered a little, making Thalia think this had been an issue in the past.

"Killing and maiming are not permitted." The two huntresses pouted at this. "First team to capture the opposing team's flag and get it across the creek wins the game. Are we clear?"

Thalia felt uncomfortable as Zoe's eyes were on her, rather than Chiron as he laid out the rules. She turned towards the campers, where two of Luke's brothers were whining about Chiron not chauffeuring them around camp. She glared at them and they quickly shut up.

"You're not playing?" Luke gave her a strange look.

"She is serving as referee and battlefield medic with me." Chiron answered sternly, making clear that the discussion was over. "Retreat to your sides. The game begins when the conch horn sounds."

Luke just shook his head and turned back towards their side of the forest, making Thalia frown. Zoe gave her one last glare before she too retreated to the hunter's side of the field.

Chiron knelt down and lowered his left side, allowing Thalia to slide off before he placed his hand on her shoulder, giving it a gentle, reassuring squeeze.

"Things will get better, my dear. Believe me, it takes some time but this will be good for you."

She gave him a small smile. His concern and care for her wellbeing was clear and genuine. He was the closest thing to a father she'd ever had.

"I know. Thank you Chiron."

He smiled and pulled the conch horn from his pack of medical supplies.

"You ready?" His voice was a little excited. "Watching the game from this perspective can be quite," his smile turned mischievous, "entertaining."

He brought the horn to his mouth and blew, sounding for the game to begin.

Almost instantly, the forest came to life. Teenage girls in silver darted across the river, disappearing into the camper's side while she saw Luke and a half dozen demigods slip into the hunters territory. Almost immediately, the spot the campers had ran into was filled with screams of pain making her panic. She looked at Chiron who's expression was only amused.

"I believe we have our first customers," he chuckled. "That actually took longer than expected."

He trotted off in the direction of the hunter's side of the forest, Thalia forced to jog quickly after him. Less than twenty yards into the hunter's territory, they found three campers rolling around on the forest floor.

Travis Stoll had a silver arrow sprouting out of his thigh as he writhed around cursing the hunters. A laugh escaped Thalia's lips when she noticed his brother Connor a few feet away. He was on his stomach groaning, a silver arrow sticking out from each butt cheek. A third boy, Chris she thought his name was, was laying on his back mumbling nonsense. The huge dent in his helm showing that the hunters were quite capable to disabling their opponents in a variety of ways.

"Well Connor," Chiron laughed. "It seems you've finally decided to see what all your pranks are like to deal with." Thalia giggled at his humorous dig at the troublesome child of Hermes.

"Agh," Connor grimaced. "Well played, sir. Well played."

Chiron knelt down and plucked the arrows from his backside before attending the one sticking out of Travis' leg. Thalia wasn't really good with healing so she just kind of stood awkwardly.

Chiron reached into his pack and held something out to Thalia. She took it, looking at the small, white, oval shaped item.

"Why don't you help Chris?" He said gesturing to the third boy. "Break it in the middle and hold it under his nose. He should pop right up."

Thalia was a little confused. She didn't know what she was doing or what this was but she followed his orders and knelt next to Chris bending the small object in the middle until she felt it snap. It moistened a bit and she brought it closer to her face before lurching back, quickly understanding. She held the smelling salt under Chris' nose as he mumbled nonsense until eyes shot open and he sat up fast.

"Whoa!" He yelled, looking around urgently. When he saw Thalia and what was in her hand, he groaned and pulled his damaged helm off, holding his head. "Damn those girls are vicious."

"They only knocked you out!" Connor complained. "They shot me in the ass!"

Chris looked over and then smirked when he saw the bloody holes in the back of Connor's pants.

"Alright," Chiron said. "Off to the medical tent, all of you. You'll need to get those wounds stitched and Chris, you need some ambrosia, you're probably concussed."

All three seemed disappointed they were out of the game but none protested as they hobbled and limped back to towards the creek.

Thalia and Chiron found several similarly injured campers and fewer, but still plenty, of injured hunters. Chiron tended them until they were able to make their way out of the forest. Around the thirty minute mark, the camper's side of the forest erupted in cries of outrage and panic and Chiron sighed.

"Come, Thalia." He said gesturing towards the creek. "Looks like the game is about to be decided."

Before they could make it far though, a similar chorus of alarmed cries came from the hunters side of the forest. Chiron looked almost proud and quickened his trot as they headed for the creek.

When they reached it, Chiron pointed towards the camper's side. Flashes of silver moved through the forest at shocking speeds. Thalia turned when she heard the thudding of arrows hitting trees and saw Luke in a dead sprint towards the creek, the hunter's flag in hand.

"It's gonna be close." Chiron said, his eyes darting from side to side, as Luke and the silver clad hunter closed in on the river.

Thalia saw Zoe Nightshade burst through some low hanging branches and then take two big strides before launching herself across the creek. The fraction of a second later, Luke reached the opposite bank of the creek and made a desperate lunge for the win.

Zoe's microscopic head start made the difference. Her small frame came down with a quiet thud, landing in a graceful crouch holding the campers' flag.

Luke landed on his side of the creek and spun around only to curse when he saw Zoe grinning smugly with the campers' flag raised.

Chiron sighed quietly and pulled out the conch horn and blew, signaling the end of the game. He forced himself to smile at Zoe.

"Hunters and heroes!" He boomed over the sounds of the hunters' cheers and campers complaints. "A fine contest, the closest to date! But for the fifty sixth time in a row, the match belongs to the Hunters of Artemis!"

The hunters cheered, shooting smug looks across the river at the scowling campers. Thalia walked over to Luke.

"Nice job, Luke." She said sincerely. "That was really clo..."

"Yeah," he cut her off. "Nice of you to help us out." His tone was bitter and she was surprised at how angry he was.

"I... I'm sorry." She said shaking her head, taken aback by his tone.

"Yeah, well, whatever." Luke turned away from her and started to walk back towards camp when a collective gasp from both campers and hunters alike made him pause.

Thalia turned around and flinched when she saw the decrepit and emaciated body of the oracle slowly marching its way towards the gathering of hunters and demigods. Her oversized peace symbol necklace and tattered tye dye sundress making her look like the grooviest zombie to ever walk the earth.

The hunters backtracked and Zoe bumped into Thalia who was too stunned to notice her backing into her. They both froze as the oracle's corpse made a slow but direct march right towards them.

She stopped uncomfortably close and looked up at Zoe with glowing green eyes. Smoke began to pour from her mouth and arced around the stiff bodies of Thalia and Zoe.

Her mouth opened and she spoke, her voice a raspy combination of several voices.

 _Five shall go west to the goddess in chains,_

 _One shall be lost in the land without rain,_

 _Unearth a secret for centuries concealed,_

 _A hero, a traitor and a fealty revealed,_

 _The Titan's curse must one withstand,_

 _And one shall rise or fall by parent's hand._

The green smoke began to disperse and the mummified oracle collapsed right into Thalia. She squeaked when she felt the leathery skin of the oracle touching her but Chiron was quick to carefully grab the withered old hag and gently lay her down.

When he turned back towards Thalia, his face was ghostly white. He seemed nervous, terrified and saddened all at the same time. When the campers and hunters started to murmur behind him, he seemed to regain his composure.

"Everyone! To your cabins! No campfire! The harpies will be around in thirty minutes. Anyone caught outside will face severe punishment!"

The campers let out a collective groan but from the centaur's tone, none dared to argue with him. Thalia started to back away when Chiron turned back to her.

"Not you, Thalia." He said firmly. "The oracle was clearly addressing both you and Zoe. I will meet you two in the Big House in ten minutes. Speak to no one. We have much to discuss."

Before she could even respond, Chiron turned and trotted off after the campers, hurrying them along and making sure none wandered off. Thalia turned and found Zoe with a pretty identical expression to the one Chiron had had. When she felt Thalia's eyes on her, she turned and opened her mouth but then seemed to think better of it. She turned and jogged off towards the big house, leaving Thalia standing alone in the middle of the forest with no one but the decayed husk of an oracle that apparently was making house visits to deliver prophecies.

Thunder boomed over head and lightning shot across the sky. Thalia watched it and had a feeling that it wasn't just a random storm. It seemed whatever the oracle had just said was not what her father wanted to hear.

 **A.N: Okay... so the chapter earlier was short... So I wrote another one. Two chapters in like 14 hours? Come on, not bad, right? No? Fuck off then... lol, just kiddding. But yeah, so some input would help... I wanna know if people like where the story is going. And no, it's not PercyxZoe... Surprising right? Well, good... Gotta mix it up... And review! I Love waking up to reviews!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Ch. 8**

Thalia sat in a metal chair at the side of the ping pong table inside the big house. Her hands fidgeted nervously as she did everything in her power to avoid the eyes of the person sitting directly across from her.

That person, was Zoe Nightshade.

Her posture was rigid but her face was calm, as if she hadn't just been tracked down by a mummified corpse and given a cryptic prophecy that sounded very much like it would lead to the death of at least one of the people who were apart of it.

Thalia's eyes kept darting in the direction of the door, impatient for Chiron to arrive and break up the awkward tension that was threatening to consume the room.

"You should know," Zoe said not looking at her. "Prophecies are often misinterpreted until they have run their course."

Thalia looked across the table but Zoe wasn't looking at her, instead inspecting a small cut on the back of her hand. For the first time since the hunters had arrived, Thalia found herself wishing the huntress would at least look at her. Before she could respond though, Chiron stepped into the big house. He made his way to his wheelchair and lowered his body, the enchanted item somehow compacting his body until it disappeared under the flannel blanket that covered his fake legs. He wheeled himself to the table, taking the place at the head of it and resting his hands on top of the flimsy game table.

"Well," he seemed unsure how to start. In all the years Thalia had known him, she'd never seen him looking so nervous. "Tonight was rather, interesting."

Thalia looked at Zoe but her eyes continued to examine her hand, showing practically zero interest in Chiron or what had just happened. Thalia wanted to scream at her. How could she be so nonchalant? They'd just been given a prophecy to find a captured a god! This was not exactly a run of the mill, Friday night occurrence.

Chiron picked up on her thoughts and spoke before she could.

"You two will need to choose three other companions for this journey. You will leave first thing in the morning, it will not be a short journey."

Thalia tore her eyes off the impassive huntress, "To where?" Her tone showed more trepidation than she would have liked by she ignored that. "Chiron, I don't understand. What was that? Where are we going?"

Chiron closed his eyes and exhaled deeply, "The meaning of the lines of the prophecy will only be revealed when they come to pass. As for where you are going," she wasn't sure but he thought Chiron glanced at the ceiling for a moment, as if expecting something to explode down from it. "That needs no deciphering. Athena and Hermes are indeed missing from Olympus. You must go to California, that is where they will be held."

Thalia stared at him, a million different thoughts and emotions battling it out for dominance in her brain. Eventually, one took control.

"You lied," she said with betrayal. "You said Perseus was lying! Why did you lie to me? Lied to all of us!"

Chiron wasn't surprised by her anger and he allowed her to berate him for a moment.

"The choice to divulge those facts were not mine to make." Thunder boomed overhead, the sound resounding throughout the empty big house.

Thalia looked up and felt her lips curl into a scowl, "Zeus' orders?"

Chiron kept his eyes on the table, ignoring the second crack of thunder. "The gods felt it best to keep their abduction quiet, to prevent the campers from panicking."

Thalia wanted to scream at him. She was so mad she couldn't stop her hands from trembling. But she forced herself to stay quiet, knowing this wasn't Chiron's choice. She took a deep breath to quell to bubbling anger.

"How do you know the captured gods are in California?"

An quiet, barely audible snort of derision across the table made Thalia's scowl deepen.

"Because that is where Mount Othrys is," Zoe said, apparently deciding that now was the time to join the discussion.

Thalia glared at the immortal huntress, "Oh, so you are actually listening?"

Zoe arched a single brow but then turned her attention back to her hand, completely ignoring Thalia. Thalia didn't miss the strange look Chiron gave Zoe but it was so brief, she wasn't sure what it meant.

"You will need three more people to join you," he veered the conversation back on track.

"I'll bring my fellow huntress, Phoebe. "Zoe interrupted before Thalia could speak.

"Very well," Chiron said slowly and Thalia swore she saw the look again before he turned to her. "I guess that leaves the final two spots for you to fill."

Thalia froze for a second. Her mind immediately went to Luke but after the way he acted towards her earlier, she found herself nervous to ask him.

"Uh," she tried to think. "If they're willing, Luke and Annabeth."

Chiron nodded like he had expected that, "Go," he said. "Gather your quest mates. If they all consent, we will go over preparations so you're ready to leave at first light."

With that, Chiron wheeled himself back from the ping pong table and out of the room. Thalia slowly rose from her chair, following Zoe out of the room and out the front door of the big house. They made their way towards the cabins and just before they needed to branch off in different directions, Thalia had to ask the nagging question in the back of her mind.

"You don't care," she tried to keep her voice even, "That we're going to be traveling with Luke? I would have thought you'd want only hunters on the quest."

"That's dumb," Zoe said simply. "The more of your friends on the quest means the better odds that one of you dies rather than one of the hunters."

Before Thalia could respond, Zoe turned left and slipped inside the Artemis cabin, leaving Thalia standing between all the cabins, wondering if she had just signed her two friends up to die.

 **-X-**

Artemis could only sit and try to not show any signs of weakness as the eyes of eight immortal gods stared at her, their gazes trying to siphon out anything she may have left unsaid. She refused to allow herself to be intimidated and simply reminded herself that she had told them what she had witnessed.

"And you," Zeus did nothing to veil his suspicions, "You just left Hermes and Athena at Mount Othrys?"

Artemis shook her head, unsure why she needed to repeat what she'd said not five minutes earlier.

"No, I did not, father. But when Per..." She stopped when Zeus' nostrils flared, "when he showed them the scene at Othrys, Athena and Hermes flashed away before I could stop them. When I tried to enter the titan stronghold, I was attacked. I would have been right there with them had he not spared me so I could report what had happened to the council."

Zeus kept his eyes glued to her, cranking up the tension in an already agitated council of immortals.

"He managed to subdue three gods," Hera spoke, her eyes narrowed. "In a matter of minutes?"

"No," Artemis snapped back. "Like I just said, it was Hecate and Atlas with him. Athena was subdued while Hermes was deceived into willingly stepping under the sky."

"And now, the demigods know they have been captured. The prophecy given to Thalia is most troubling." Zeus looked downright furious.

"I didn't ask to hunt him!" Artemis hissed, "He has grown powerful and is driven by a thirst for vengeance!"

Zeus glared at his daughter but before he could speak, a quiet voice spoke from the side of the room, at the feet of the hearth.

"I believe his true motives are rooted in a betrayal much deeper than his expulsion from Olympus."

Artemis' eyes followed the sound back to their source. She watched the small girl stoking the coals of the hearth fire as a wave of shame washed over the moon goddess. She turned her head, unable to meet the eyes of the quiet goddess.

"His motives are not important," Apollo snapped back. "All that matters is what we do next."

Hestia didn't acknowledge Apollo's retort, keeping her focus on the meager fire burning in the hearth.

"There is nothing that can be done," Poseidon said trying to bring the focus back to why they were there. "A prophecy was issued. We can only wait and let the events unfold and deal with the ramifications of those events."

He briefly eyed Artemis in her throne and she wished she could sink into it.

Zeus' face was red but he also knew Poseidon was right. They could not interfere with what the Fates have decreed.

"Very well," he said through pursed lips. "We will adjourn but first," he looked around the room but his eyes were mostly on Apollo and Artemis. "Any kind of interaction with this quest will be dealt with swiftly and severely."

He allowed his warning to sink in for a moment before he flashed away from the council of the gods.

One by one, the Olympians all followed the lead of their king until only Apollo and Artemis were left. Apollo eyed his twin for a minute, "What will you do?"

Artemis' face stoic but her eyes revealed the truth. Her heart was throbbing as she envisioned what would soon come to be. She glanced at Apollo for a minute then shook her head.

"Lord Zeus had spoken." She said emotionlessly. "There is nothing that can be done until the quest is finished."

Apollo opened his mouth to respond but Artemis disappeared in a silvery flash of light. The sun god shook his head, lamenting about things past, present and what may be to come.

 **-X-**

Silence filled the camp van as Thalia rode in the far back, Luke and Annabeth in the row in front of her, the two huntresses in the driver's and passenger seats.

Awkward did not do justice to the mood inside the van. They'd driven almost non-stop for nine hours, the only break was in Pittsburg where they'd stopped for a bathroom break and to let Zoe take over driving duties from her fellow huntress.

"Let me get this straight," Luke said, ending the silence but not the uncomfortable tension. "We're supposed to drive all the way to California and somehow rescue my Dad and Athena from some lunatic god who's joined the Titans because he's butt hurt over something that happened thousands of years ago?"

Thalia could see Zoe's knuckles turn white as she gripped the wheel.

"Well, boy," Phoebe answered sharply. "In the most idiotic terms possible, that would be right."

Luke scowled at the back of her chair, though Thalia was pretty sure she didn't get the message.

"Five of us versus one god?" He continued, "that shouldn't be that hard."

"Idiot," Zoe grumbled but she kept her eyes in the road and didn't elaborate.

"He managed to capture two gods, "Phoebe picked up on Zoe's statement.. "It would take an army of demigods to overcome Percy by force."

Thalia felt a shiver run down her back. She saw Annabeth and Luke stiffen as well.

"Percy?" Thalia asked.

Zoe shot her fellow huntress an annoyed look before glancing in the rearview mirror at Thalia.

"Long ago, before he betrayed Olympus, that was the name he preferred to go by."

"You know him?" Annabeth asked. Her tone was curious, though there was definitely a hint of fear in it too.

"In a different time," Phoebe answered. "He would visit Artemis and the hunt occasionally. It was so long ago, even I have trouble remembering."

"So," Thalia cut in. "It's all true? He was an Olympian?"

Phoebe and Zoe exchanged brief glances that made Thalia uneasy.

"He was." Zoe answered slowly. "But he lost his throne when he betrayed Zeus."

Thalia eyed the huntresses from her seat but they didn't continue.

"And his wife?" Thalia pressed.

Both hunters froze for a moment. Though their heads didn't move, Thalia was positive they were looking at each other. As the silence dragged on, Thalia waited, positive they knew the answer.

"I don't know," Phoebe said with a little more force than necessary. "He is a male. His visits to the hunt were always brief and Lady Artemis never spoke about a wife."

Thalia was certain that was a lie. She opened her mouth to demand they tell her when the van veered hard to the left, across three lanes of highway and into oncoming traffic.

"WHAT THE HADES?!" Luke yelled when the sound of a machine gun answered exploded off the pavement, carving a path right at them. They would have been hit had Zoe not slammed on the breaks and cut the wheel hard, sending them into a spinout as they still sped down the highway.

Zoe struggled to keep the van on four wheels. If her reflexes weren't beyond that of a mortal, they would have been flipping down the highway to their deaths. Instead, they bounced off the the guardrail a couple times and came to a skidding stop in the middle of the road, their van smoking and the smell of burnt rubber nearly overwhelming.

"What was that?!" Thalia yelled as she managed to keep the bag of chips she'd eaten earlier from coming up.

Whop Whop Whop Whop Whop Whop the sound came from overhead, the blades of the helicopter resounding loudly over the sounds of horns honking and mortals yelling from their cars.

"Mortals," Phoebe growled but Thalia barely heard it, the thrumming of the helicopter drowning out all other sounds.

Zoe looked at the small pileup of cars ahead of her. Her eyes darted to the rearview mirror before Thalia heard two word come from her lips.

"Hang on!"

She jammed the van into reverse and punched it. The tires squealed for a second before catching traction and shooting down the highway in reverse.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Luke screamed as he tried to keep himself from flying into the windshield.

Zoe didn't answer though. She cut the wheel sharply to the left and then to the right, the van sliding from side to side a bit with every violent turn. She didn't even turn her head, her eyes glued to the mirror as she avoided stopped cars.

Bratatatatatatat rang out as the helicopter opened fire again. Zoe weaved through vehicles and managed to avoid being hit, her face hardened in concentration but not the least bit fearful.

"Take the exit!" Phoebe yelled. "There's a subway station right off the exit!"

Zoe didn't respond but she clearly listened, cutting hard to the right and shooting off the exit ramp at speeds that would be unsafe if driving forward, doing it in reverse was downright suicidal.

As they sped towards a red light at the end of the exit, Zoe spun the wheel, sending them sliding sideways as she threw the van into drive and punched the gas again. They drifted side to side a few times before she managed to straighten out. She plunged into the breakdown lane and blew past a half dozen vehicles waiting at the light. She kept the pedal to the floor and shot across the intersection, missing a semi truck by inches as it passed through its green light.

Thalia wasn't sure about Luke and Annabeth, but she was pretty sure she'd just pee'd herself a little.

"There!" Phoebe pointed to a ramp leading down into a parking lot. Zoe flew down the ramp, smashing a wooden boom barrier to splinters as she shot down a level and the sound of the helicopter faded until it was gone. Zoe pulled into a secluded corner of the lot and threw the van into park, exhaling softly as she came down from the adrenaline rush of the getaway.

"We should move," Phoebe said to her. "It'll take the mortals a little while to sort out what happened up there and I don't wanna be here when they do."

Zoe nodded and killed the engine. Grabbing her bow and small pack and jumping out of the driver's seat.

Thalia was stark white, frozen in her seat. Annabeth and Luke appeared to be about the same as none of them made any move to leave the van until the side door slid open hard and Phoebe looked at them impatiently.

"Let's go! Or we'll leave you here!"

Annabeth and Luke snapped out of their daze and got out, stumbling a little when their feet hit the ground. Thalia didn't fare any better as the ground seemed to be shifting beneath her feet.

"Come on!" Zoe growled. "We need to move!"

"What was that!?" Luke demanded, gesturing in the general direction of the highway.

"That was Zoe saving your life, boy." Phoebe sneered.

"You said those were mortals," Thalia cut in. "Why would mortals try to kill us?"

Zoe ran a hand through her hair in frustration, clearly not enthused about having explain it herself to three young demigods.

"They're mercenaries. They probably have no idea who they were trying to kill. Through the mist, we might be terrorists or criminals to them."

"But..." Luke was having trouble finding the words. "But, why?"

"You know," Phoebe said mockingly. "I didn't get a chance to ask them. Why don't you three wait here and you can ask them yourselves? We're going to get on a train before they catch up with us." She didn't wait for Luke to respond as she turned and started to jog across the lot, Zoe right behind her.

"I think we should go with them." Annabeth said grabbing her bag and starting after the hunters. She paused and looked back at her two friends. "Guys, we can ask them more later but they're right. The longer we wait, the better chance we have of getting captured, or shot. So, unless you have a better option, we follow them."

Luke didn't look happy but he grabbed his stuff and followed Annabeth. They both stopped and gave Thalia exasperated glares, finally bringing her to her senses as she followed her friends.

 **-X-**

It turned out they had been in Columbus, Ohio. They took the subway clear across town before cutting back and taking a cab to an Amtrak station a little outside the city. If the driver had been confused by either their ages or the fact that they were heavily armed with ancient looking weapons, he made no indication. Zoe had paid the fare and then bought them five tickets west. Fortunately for them, there was a train heading to Denver leaving in five hours. While it was better than they could have hoped, five hours was a long time to be sitting around a train station, waiting for their pursuers to catch up to them.

All five were seated around a table of the coffee shop that was located right inside the station. Luke was filling his face with a donut while the four girls sipped coffee and waited for the minutes to tick by slowly.

"So," Annabeth said trying for a friendly tone. "Mortal mercenaries weren't really what we prepared for when we left." She fiddled with a small celestial bronze dagger.

"Yeah, well, if they show back up on foot, we'll have something waiting for them." Phoebe said as she reached into her quiver and pulled an arrow out before letting it drop back in. It was silver like the rest of her arrows but this one was duller than the others. From the brief glimpse Thalia got in her quiver, she appeared to have around a half dozen similar arrows.

"You guys carry weapons for killing mortals?" Thalia asked, trying not to sound judgmental.

"When you travel with a band of teen and pre-teen girls, you learn to be prepared for a certain type of man who might be drawn to our group." Phoebe didn't need to elaborate and Thalia decided she could understand the reason.

"You're gonna try to take down a guy with a gun, using an arrow?" Luke was walking towards the trash bin to throw out his napkin and crumbs when the coffee he was carrying in his other hand exploded, covering his pants in coffee. A silver arrow thudded into the wall beside the trash as Annabeth and Thalia both jumped to their feet in alarm.

"Phoebe is a daughter of Apollo and a huntress," Zoe was trying to hold in her smirk. "She could drop a man with her eyes closed before they could even raise the barrel of a gun."

The daughter of Apollo walked past Luke who was still frozen in shock. She plucked out her arrow, examined the tip and then tucked it back in her quiver when she was satisfied it was still in good shape.

"That was unnecessary." Thalia glared at Phoebe who simply shrugged and sat back down. Luke turned around and Thalia could see he was ready to explode.

"Maybe we should go for a walk!" Annabeth said standing up. She was by youngest in the group but was probably the most mature. She knew a huge argument wouldn't help the quest at all. She ran forward and grabbed Luke's hand, tugging him forward and away from the two hunters as they tried not to smirk at the look on his face. Once they were out of sight, Thalia narrowed her eyes.

"You didn't have to do that!" She hissed. "He wasn't questioning your skills."

Phoebe chuckled a little, "Okay, sorry?"

Thalia would have kept going but Zoe cut her off, "Enough. Let's just focus on the job we have to do."

"The job?" Thalia asked accusingly. "Yes, let's focus on the job at hand. To start, why don't we discuss the crazy god who kidnapped me? If you think I bought the BS answers from earlier, then you're as bad at reading people as you are at lying."

Zoe's dark eyes narrowed into slits, "Are you calling me a liar?"

Thalia laughed humorlessly, "Wow, perceptive." Zoe stood up and pulled a long hunting knife from her belt. Thalia jumped back and whipped out her canister of mace before it transformed into a long celestial bronze spear.

"Whoa, whoa whoa." Phoebe stepped between them and spread her arms towards each. "Both of you, stop. We aren't your enemy here, Thalia."

Thalia didn't lower her weapon, "The prophecy says a traitor will be revealed and that bullshit about barely remembering Perseus tells me I might be looking at two of them."

Phoebe's face flashed with anger but she controlled herself and used her hand to make Zoe lower her blade before turning to look directly at Thalia.

"You're wrong," she said looking dead into her eyes. "We didn't tell you all we knew but it wasn't to deceive you."

Thalia glanced from Phoebe to Zoe, who still looked angry, and then waited for her to elaborate.

"We can't tell you. You don't understand," Phoebe looked exasperated. "When he was banished, Zeus forced all hunters to swear an oath."

Thalia's spear slowly lowered and she stared at Phoebe in disbelief, "An oath?"

"Yes," Zoe growled. "He was stricken from the histories of Olympus and to make sure he was never mentioned, Zeus made all hunters who knew him swear on the River Styx to never talk about his life. If we told you the things you asked, we'd be breaking an oath on the Styx!"

"But," Thalia stared at them, her mind slowly trying wrap itself around what she'd been told. "But why?"

Zoe tiled her head to the side and gave her a deadpanned expression.

Thalia blushed a little in embarrassment, "Right, you can't say. But how do I know you're not lying to me now?"

Phoebe rolled her eyes, "Because I swear, by the River Styx, that we're not lying about being sworn to silence." Thunder rumbled overhead making Thalia's spear shrink back into its mace canister form.

"Well," she shook her head, "shit."

Phoebe's face morphed into an amused smile, "Pretty much."

"RUN!"

They all turned and saw Luke basically dragging Annabeth right towards them. At first, they were confused, then they saw three heavily armed men in black coming up on them in quick pursuit.

"SHIT!" Thalia yelled. Her spear reappeared in her hand but Phoebe stepped past her, her bow already drawn.

"We need to move." She said as she took aim.

"They have bullet proof vests on," Zoe said as she had her own bow out.

"I know," Phoebe said in barely a whisper. "Sucks for them." She fired an arrow. It flew right over the heads of Luke and Annabeth and caught the closest mercenary in the neck. He was knocked back, his feet flying out from under him as he crashed to the ground and lay motionless.

Zoe fired her own arrow, clipping another in the arm and stopping him in his tracks. He and the final man raised their assault rifles and took aim.

"Not so fast, boys." Phoebe spat as she pulled a small object from her bag. She threw it past Luke and Annabeth, landing on the ground in front of the men. Before they could react, it exploded in a plume of smoke, sending them to the ground gasping for air.

"Let's go!" Thalia yelled as her two friends reached them. They all turned and ran in the opposite direction, towards the tracks.

"There!" Zoe yelled, pointing to a train as it began to pull out of the station.

"We don't know where it's going!" Annabeth yelled back.

"Away from here," Luke replied. "Good enough for me!"

It was hard to argue with that logic. They jumped down and started to run alongside the tracks as the train rolled by. When a cargo car began to roll past, Zoe nimbly leapt up and grabbed the locked door, holding on for dear life as she tried not to fall off the narrow footing she had.

She pulled her knife from her belt and, holding onto the train car with one hand, slashed at the lock. The lock sparked and then broke apart, swinging open as Zoe threw herself in. Phoebe dove in right after Zoe, Luke rolling in afterwards. Thalia jumped and would have fallen back out had Zoe not grabbed her by the shirt and yanked her into the car.

"Come on, Annabeth!" Luke yelled as he watched his young friend try to keep pace with the accelerating train. He tried to reach for her outstretched hand but could only grasp her fingers before she stumbled and lost ground.

"We need to get off!" Thalia panicked. "We can't leave her behind!"

Without a word, Zoe yanked Luke away from the door making both he and Thalia snarl in protest. Zoe ignored them though and looked out to find Annabeth losing ground on the train.

She shook her head and then took a step back before jumping from the car and somersaulting forward when she hit the ground. She hopped back to her feet though and took off at a dead sprint. She caught up to Annabeth quickly and snatched the smaller girl up, tossing her over her shoulder and putting her head down as she really turned on the jets. For a smaller girl, Zoe's legs incredibly strong as she sped alongside the train until she was running beside the open door.

Thalia and Phoebe grabbed Annabeth and pulled her inside.

"Zoe!" Luke yelled as he looked ahead as saw a huge boulder blocking Zoe's path.

She looked up and barely had to time to react. She jumped up, kicking off the rock and launched herself sideways and into the open doorway, crashing roughly to the floor and rolling for a few feet before she slammed into the side of something hard.

She groaned and put a hand to the back of her head before going stiff when she felt a pair of arms around her neck. She opened her eyes and found a mess of curly blonde hair in her face, taking a minute to recognize as the small daughter of Athena's.

Zoe awkwardly patted her on the back, "It's alright," she said gently. "We're all on board now."

Annabeth slowly detached herself from the huntress, blushing in embarrassment. Zoe found an outstretched hand in front of her and was surprised to see Thalia the one offering it. She allowed herself to be pulled to her feet, still a little wobbly from slamming her head.

"Thank you," Thalia said under her breath, though Zoe heard it clearly. She gave her a small nod and finally looked around. They were in a large boxcar filled with luxury vehicles. She looked behind her and saw the large dent in a silver Ferrari from her head.

"Alright," Phoebe said as she looked around. "Let's ride this thing out for the night. When the sun rises, we'll try to figure out if we're even headed in the right direction."

No one argued with her. After the long day of driving and then the mortal mercenary attack, they were all exhausted. They began shuffling around to find places to crash. Luke was able to jimmy open the lock of a car and did it for each of them, giving them each a somewhat cushioned place to sleep through the night.

Thalia found herself in the silver Ferrari that Zoe had dented. She reclined the seat and was about to close her eyes when a voice beside her made her almost jump straight through the windshield.

 **A.N: So, kind of like Titan's Curse but there will be some big changes. Stay tuned and let me know what you thought so far.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Ch. 9**

"Hello, Thalia."

Thalia's knees slammed into the bottom of the steering wheel as she nearly had a heart attack. She turned and found a teenage girl sitting in the passenger seat, acting as if she hadn't just appeared out of thin air.

"Who are you?!" She tried not to yell but was having trouble controlling the volume of her voice with her heart beating a million times a minute.

The girl raised an eyebrow at her. She was beautiful, maybe seventeen or eighteen. She had dark auburn hair and startlingly silver eyes. It didn't take Thalia long to figure it out, though she'd never seen the goddess as anything but a twelve year old girl before.

Artemis wore a hooded sweatshirt and ripped jeans, another thing that threw Thalia off.

"Lady Ar..." She froze when Artemis' hand covered her mouth. The goddess pressed a finger to her lips and shook her head slowly.

"Call me Diana," she whispered. "If, you know who, knew I was here, it would end badly."

Thalia slowly nodded her head to show she understood and Artemis removed her hand. Thalia didn't say anything at first, she was distracted by the appearance of the goddess. If not for the silver eyes, she would have actually passed for a regular teenage girl.

"I didn't recognize you," she said simply.

Artemis looked down at herself then nodded in understanding, "Yes, well, changing the way I look helps avoid any unwelcome eyes."

Thalia pursed her lips, "You," she paused thinking how to word it, "you're not allowed to be here?"

"No," the goddess agreed. "The warning was very clear."

"Why?"

Artemis frowned, "Father, he is, um... troubled by recent events. He is unhappy about the prophecy and ordered that no god interfere in any way."

"Then, why are you here, lady A... er, I mean Diana?"

This time it was Artemis who pursed her lips. She seemed to think about the question for a minute.

"You were forced into this quest and it's my fault."

"Because he's your brother?" Thalia asked.

Artemis' eyes were on the dashboard of the sports car. Her obvious discomfort made Thalia emboldened to press her questioning.

"Because you betrayed him?"

Artemis silver eyes snapped towards her and Thalia immediately knew she'd gone to far.

"You presume much, demigod."

Thalia lowered her gaze, "I'm sorry. It was just what he'd said when he abducted me."

Artemis stared at her for a long minute. Her eyes were unfocused though and she looked like her mind was elsewhere, perhaps lost in memories of the past.

"What else did he say?" She finally asked, watching the demigod closely.

Thalia shrugged nervously, "Not a lot. He tried to convince me the gods were the evil ones and they would use me and then throw me away once they're done with me"

Artemis leaned back and her demeanor shifted, "It's not important. Never mind."

"Okay," Thalia said confused and a little put off by how quickly Artemis shrugged off her comment about being tossed away by the gods. "Forgive me, my lady, but I'm still not sure why you're here."

"To help you, of course." The goddess said simply.

Thalia wasn't sure how to respond to that and Artemis picked up on it.

"This train, it's now heading west. In the morning, you need to get off and find another method of travel but until the sun rises, this will bring you as far closer to your destination."

"Oh, okay." Thalia replied. "If you don't mind me asking, Diana, why are you talking to me and not your hunters? And do you know what some of the lines of prophecy mean?"

Artemis' posture stiffened a little and Thalia immediately knew she'd touched on a sensitive subject.

"The lines of the prophecy can only be revealed through your quest. Follow your instincts, they will be your best ally."

Before she could ask another question, Thalia blinked and she was alone in the Ferrari. She silently cursed the goddess. For being there to help, she really hadn't said anything helpful. Granted, knowing they were at least heading in the right direction was good, but she could have given even a little insight about the prophecy. If anything, she was even more confused about Perseus and what they might encounter when they reached Mount Othrys.

 _What was the deal with this god?_

The way everyone, gods and mortals alike, talked about him made her feel like she was missing something. The mere mention of his name seemed to bring up a different emotion in every person she encountered.

She decided she had to let it go. All she could do was continue on and let the chips fall where they may. They had accepted this prophecy, albeit less than willingly, and there was no backing out now. She would control what she could and deal with everything else as it came up.

She closed her eyes, her mind still racing despite her best efforts to quiet it, as she drifted off into the realm of Morpheus.

 _Thalia felt herself stumbling forward, she tried to catch herself but her feet became tangled in the chains between her feet. She fell forward and wasn't able to brace herself as her hands were also shackled, bound to chain between her feet. She hit the ground hard, the course packed dirt scraping her face._

 _"Get up!" A voice boomed from behind her. Thalia tried to get back to her feet but found her body was weak, too weak to raise herself from the ground. She tried to push herself up with her hands but they weren't even strong enough to raise her frail body._

 _"I said get up!" The voice boomed again. Before she had a chance to even try and comply, liquid fire seared her back. She cried out in agony and felt tears well up in her eyes only to be rewarded with a second lash across the back._

 _The pain was indescribable. She felt like a fire had been set across her back. Each welt burned with the heat of a sun, sending pain shooting throughout her body. She could feel the warmth of her own blood as it seeped through her tattered linen chiton. Despite how weak she was and the blinding pain in her back, she managed to get herself onto her hands and knees, driven by the sheer terror of another lashing._

 _The next lash of the whip was poorly aimed. It snapped over her shoulders, the tip coming around and catching her in the face. She fell over, her hands unable to reach her face, though she tried. The metallic taste of her own blood filled her senses and made her nearly lose consciousness._

 _"You fool!" A second voice chastised her attacker. "Now we will have to take less for this one! You never injure the face!"_

 _Thalia turned her head in time to see a large tan man slam his sandaled foot into the back of her the one who'd whipped her. The man fell to the ground and was kicked in the face and despite her own pain, she felt a twinge of satisfaction at the sight of his blood as it leaked from his swollen nose._

 _"Get up girl!" Her so called savior bellowed at her. When she didn't immediately comply, he grabbed the back of her chiton and yanked her upright, ripping the thin clothe and exposing her throbbing back to the scorching sun._

 _"Stay on your feet or next time you won't get up again!" He spat at her as he turned around, taking care to kick the other man in the stomach as he passed over him._

 _Thalia could only tremble as silent sobs racked her body._

 _"Do not fall again," a quiet voice hissed from beside her. "We are nearly there. They will kill you if you don't to look presentable."_

 _Thalia turned and found a middle aged woman in chains beside her. Her body was thin, almost too thin, but her weathered face was kind and gentle._

 _"I... I'm sorry." Thalia whimpered._

 _"Shhh... Shhhh, child." The woman said soothingly. "It's almost over. Hopefully your new master will be kind. He'll feed and clothe you, you just need to survive a little while longer."_

 _Thalia could only nod her head. She knew if she spoke, she would lose herself. She saw the man in front of her begin walking and despite her body's protests, her bare feet began to shuffle forward, careful to watch her step as she walked. She lowered her head and tried to pace her steps with the enslaved man in front of her, her sole desire was to not be noticed again._

 _She wasn't sure how long they walked but in the blazing sun, it felt like hours. She could see a small city in the distance ahead and almost wept in happiness. Her feet were bloodied and blistered from the coarse road and her fresh lashes felt like they were boiling on her exposed back. She had no idea what was waiting for her when she entered the city but ending this death march was all she could pray for._

 _As they approached a gate near the city, a black steed came galloping from the city. It passed the front of their caravan and Thalia instinctively lowered her head as a sign of respect for the man just as everyone around her did. She knew enough to know that disrespecting a man wealthy enough to own such a fine horse would surely result in punishment._

 _A shiver ran down her spine when she heard the equine slow to a trot and then stop just a few feet away from her._

 _"Keep your head down, child." The kind woman whispered._

 _Despite knowing she should listen, Thalia felt her head turn slightly and caught a glimpse of the rider. She flinched when she noticed he was staring right at her. She wasn't sure what was going on but the caravan had stopped. The man dismounted and stood next to her, silent, his eyes boring into her._

 _She was nearly frantic in fear of the punishment she would receive for forcing them to stop again._

 _The man was tall, draped in dark armor and handsome. His face looked carved from stone. He had a neatly trimmed black beard and long dark hair that was tied back._

 _"You," he said pointing at Thalia. "What is your name?"_

 _Before she could answer, the two slavers approached the man, smiles on their faces as they looked pleased to have caught his attention._

 _"Ah, my good sir!" The man who'd ripped her chiton said gleefully. "She is a fresh addition to our stock! She is as pure as she is beautiful!"_

 _The man ignored him and reached out and grabbed Thalia by her chin. He forced her to look at him and she was startled by the pair of unnatural black eyes looking back at her._

 _"Perhaps we could cut you a special deal, right here and now?" The slaver continued on as if the man hadn't been ignoring him._

 _"Who is your father?" The handsome man asked, his voice was neither kind nor harsh. It was deep and authoritative and Thalia felt her knees tremble in fear of not giving him the answer he wanted._

 _"I... I don't know, my lord." Thalia whimpered back._

 _"My friend!" The man pressed on. "Perhaps we should discuss payment and you can take her with you. Why wait for the auction when she could be yours for a very very fair price."_

 _The man finally turned his eyes to the slaver, his expression was anything was enthused to work out a deal with him._

 _"If you speak again, I'll cut out your tongue and feed it to him." He pointed at the second slaver who suddenly appeared startled._

 _The first slaver's smile vanished and he glared back at the man harshly, "You would dare to..."_

 _He didn't get a chance to finish the sentence as the man spun around and grabbed him by the shirt. He pulled him so close, their faces were only inches apart._

 _"Give me that girl or you will suffer a fate worse than any you have sold these peasants into."_

 _The slaver slammed his fist in the man's face and Thalia's mouth dropped when she heard the bones in his hand crunch and snap when they connected with his jaw. The slaver dropped to his knees, holding his mangled hand and screaming in pain._

 _The second slaver's whip lashed across the taller man's back but it had no effect. The handsome man's eyes flashed and the whip wrapped moved on its own accord, wrapping around the slaver's legs and sending him toppling face first into the ground, struggling and rolling in vain efforts to get free. The man turned back to the first who was still holding his shattered hand._

 _"Your tongue." He growled. "Stick. It. Out."_

 _The slaver's face was an image of pure terror. He shook his head frantically but seemed unable to do anything to move away from his assailant. His mind and body looked like they were dueling it out for control. But as the dark haired man waited, the slaver opened his mouth and stuck out his tongue._

 _"Good boy."_

 _Thalia would have thrown up if she had anything in her stomach when she watched the terrifying dark eyed man pull out a dagger and cut off the tongue from as deep as he could reach. The slaver collapsed backwards moaning and gurgling in agony as blood poured from his mouth, staining the ground a dark brown as he lost copious amounts from the severed appendage._

 _With the tongue in hand, the man turned to the still ensnared second slaver and just stared at him. Somehow, clearly against his will, the restrained man opened his mouth only to have the tongue jammed inside, forcing it into his throat. He strained and convulsed as he tried to clear his blocked airways._

 _The dark haired man turned and waved his hand and the shackles of every captured slaved disappeared._

 _"Go! Find you way back to your homes." He ordered. Thalia made to run when she was snatched by the arm and held in place. The older slave who'd spoken nicely to her paused when she saw Thalia had been grabbed but a quick warning look from the man sent her off running with the others._

 _"Please," Thalia whimpered. "Sir, please. I don't know..."_

 _"Shhhh," he said in a surprisingly gentle tone. "I'm not going to hurt you. I'm going to help you. You need to calm down and believe my words, you are my kin, young one."_

 _Thalia's eyes widened as the man let go of her arm and lowered himself onto a knee._

 _"My name is Perseus, my dear. I am going to make sure you never suffer like you have. I promise you that."_

 _Thalia stumbled back a bit and fell on her butt._

 _"Perseus?" She said in awe, her face going pale as she realized who and what this guy was. "Like... Like, you mean Perseus? As in the god, Perseus?"_

 _He smiled kindly at her, "The one and only."_

 _"Your kin?" She squeaked out._

 _His smile grew a little, "Of course. I could sense the blood of Apollo in you from inside the city. Now, tell me, my dear; what is your name?"_

 _She swallowed the lump in her throat, "My name... My name is Phoebe."_

 _His reached out and grabbed her shoulder. It slid behind her and down her back as she felt the most indescribable cooling sensation flow through her. The throbbing lashes on her back began to hurt less until the pain vanished completely. She couldn't see them but she knew they were healed, the skin knit back together and smooth as if she'd never been hurt._

 _His hand came up and cupped her cheek and she felt the same cooling sensation on her face as the gash from the badly aimed strike closed up and healed. She put a hand to her face and was stunned to feel the wound was gone, nothing, not even a scar left as evidence it had been there._

 _Perseus pulled his hand away and gave her a gentle smile, "You now have a choice to make, my dear. Come with me and I will take you to a place where no man will ever be able to hurt you again. Or go on your own, try to return to wherever you came from, and resume the life you had before any of this happened."_

 _Thalia felt a moment of indecision. She stared into his dark but now suddenly not frightening eyes, "I have a choice?"_

 _His nodded, his smile not wavering at all, "Of course you do, Phoebe. You are a child of a god, your life and destiny are yours to decide."_

 _She lowered her eyes and thought about the life she'd had before being captured. It was anything but great but it was hers, at least until the slavers came and dragged her away from her small village._

 _"Okay," she whispered. "I want to go with you."_

 _He smiled knowingly and then Thalia's vision went dark._

Thalia jolted up, coated in sweat and breathing deeply. She turned and found the car door of the Ferrari already open. Looking down at her were the confused and slightly concerned eyes of Phoebe. She immediately knew it was the very same one she'd just witnessed first hand be saved by the god they were on their way to confront.

"Are you okay?" Phoebe asked, offering her a hand.

Thalia stared at it for a moment. She knew little about this huntress, they only became acquainted since beginning the quest. But from what she'd seen, it was difficult to imagine her as a weak and vulnerable girl. If she hadn't witnessed it through Phoebe's eyes first hand, she wouldn't have believed it.

"Thalia? What is it?" Phoebe pressed, her expression full of worry.

"Noth... Nothing." Thalia answered as she took the huntress' hand. Phoebe pulled her out of the car and frowned when she noticed Thalia staring.

"Just bad dreams," Thalia said quickly. "Sorry, just not really awake yet."

Phoebe nodded in understanding, "Yeah, dreams are never much fun for half bloods."

"What time is it?" Thalia asked when she noticed the sunlight poking through the gaps of the train car.

"Early, the sun has just started to rise."

"We need to get off the train." Thalia replied.

"Yeah," Zoe agreed as she stepped towards them. "Who knows where we are, we could be back on the east coast by now."

Thalia shook her head as Annabeth and Luke made their way over to the group.

"No, this train is going west. Lady A..." Thalia caught herself. "Uh, a friend told me that it was heading west but that we need to get off now."

"A friend?" Luke asked with an eyebrow raised. Zoe and Phoebe exchanged a look, their expressions showing the silent conversation they were having.

"Yeah," Thalia answered. "I had a visitor last night before I went to bed."

"Who?" Annabeth asked curious.

"Um," Thalia wasn't sure how to explain it. "I can't say. They weren't supposed to be there but they told me the train was going west and we needed to get off at first light."

Luke gave her a skeptical look but before he could press her, Zoe cut in.

"Did she say anything else?" It was clear Zoe had figured it out, her expression was neutral though, so Thalia couldn't tell if she was upset Artemis had visited Thalia instead of her last night.

Thalia shook her head, "Just that we need to find a different mode of transportation."

"The train is slowing," Phoebe said as she looked towards the cracks of the train car. "We'll jump out when the train is moving slower and then we can figure out exactly where we are."

No one argued with the huntress as they all gathered up their stuff. Zoe opened up the sliding door she'd busted last night and then looked back at the others.

"Let's move, we're almost to at a train station." She leapt from the train and the others quickly followed her lead. They picked themselves up and made a wide arc through some woods before approaching the station.

"That's impossible!" Annabeth shook her head in disbelief as she read off the station sign. "It says we're in Santa Fe. It's impossible to move that far overnight."

"Unless you have a little divine help." Phoebe said looking pleased. "Better off to not question it and just be grateful we're that much closer."

Annabeth didn't look like she wanted to simply accept it but when no one else looked interested in discussing it, she frowned and followed the others as they made their way into the station in search of a quick snack before continuing on. They were all so focused on finding some food, they completely missed the two onyx eyed teenagers watching them from the other side of the platform.

 **A.N: Another chapter down. What'd you think? Decided Phoebe need a backstory. Let me you know what you thought of it.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Ch. 10**

After grabbing bagels and coffee, Zoe, Phoebe, Thalia and Luke sat on the steps of the entrance to the train station, waiting for the youngest member of their group to join them.

Phoebe felt uncomfortable. Every time she would look, she found Thalia eyeing her. She wasn't sure what it was about but she was about ready to say something when Annabeth emerged through the doors of the Amtrak station, nibbling on her bagel while holding a hot chocolate in her other hand.

"There's a bus station in the next town over. The guy inside said it was only a couple miles and it might be quicker to walk than call for a cab."

"Alright," Zoe agreed. "It's probably best to avoid getting a cab or finding a bus anyway. The less we have to deal wth mortals, the better."

The Amtrak station had said it was in Santa Fe. In actuality, it was a few towns over, Santa Fe was just the closest urban area. As they made their way to the road, they found themselves in a very rural area. A single two lane road lead in the direction Annabeth said they needed to go and it was empty for as far as they could see.

They walked in relative silence for close to an hour until the road came to a fork. A monstrous junkyard lay directly ahead of them with both roads going parallel to the fenced in scrap heap.

"Okay Annabeth," Thalia grumbled. "Which way now?"

The daughter of Athena's forehead was scrunched as she tried to think. The man at the train station had said the bus station was to the west. He hadn't mentioned a fork in the road.

"Um," she frowned. "They guy said west. He didn't say there was a huge junkyard in the way."

"Which road goes around?" Phoebe asked.

"I... I don't know." Annabeth answered.

"Let's just go through it." Luke cut in. "I'm not walking all the way around this place, it's huge."

Thalia looked up at the junkyard and couldn't help but feel uneasy. The place looked abandoned but something about it seemed... off.

Before she could voice any of her concerns though, Luke was already approaching the fence. He scaled it with ease and then looked back at the others, waiting.

One by one they followed him over the fence. As they walked through the mounds of scrap metal and assorted junk, Thalia's sense of danger didn't subside.

Zoe stepped up beside her, "Act normal." She hissed. "We're being followed."

Despite the warning, Thalia couldn't help but stiffen at the thought of being watched. Phoebe was between both Annabeth and Luke and it was obvious from the way they tensed up, they had been told the same thing.

As she and Zoe caught up with the others, Thalia gave a sideways glance towards Zoe, waiting for her to tell her what they should do.

"Slow down," she whispered, "but keep moving."

The group collectively slowed their pace for about fifty feet, Zoe and Phoebe intermittently looking at each other as they seemed to be waiting for something.

"Now!" Zoe yelled and shoved Thalia into Luke and Annabeth, sending the trio crashing to the ground.

She and Phoebe spun around and fired arrows at two dark figures that looked frozen twenty yards behind them, At the last second, the taller of the two figures slashed a hand in front of them and the arrows simply vanished.

"What the..." Phoebe said before the two figures vanished. Suddenly both huntresses were sent to the ground after being slammed in the back.

Luke and Thalia jumped their feet and drew their weapons but not fast enough. Before he could defend himself, the taller figure stepped behind him and grabbed hold of him, pressing a dark blade to his throat.

"That's quite enough." Thalia was surprised to hear a female voice and one that sounded strangely familiar. "Drop you weapons or I'll cut his throat."

Both figures had hoods up that cast shadows over their faces, hiding them from view.

Luke tried to break free but the girl kicked him in the back of the knee, causing it to give way. He would have fallen if she hadn't held him up, her blade opening up a small cut on his neck.

"Do that again and you're a dead man." She growled at him.

Thalia stood up and dropped her spear. Zoe and Phoebe slowly approached the group, their bows held out at arms length.

"Drop them!" The other figured demanded and Thalia's eyes went wide as Zoe and Phoebe set their bows down and Annabeth dropped her small dagger.

"You!" She pointed at the smaller figure. She realized why the girl sounded familiar. "You two... You're the children of Hades!"

The girl looked at the other figure and then threw back her head, causing her hood to come off. Her long dark hair was tied back in a tight pony tail. Her olive skin was smooth, a few freckles sparsely dotting her nose. Her onyx eyes were narrowed, dangerous looking.

The other pulled down his hood to reveal the face of a young boy, Nico, whom Thalia had left behind in the custody of the insane god, Perseus.

"What are you two doing?" Thalia demanded. "And how did you get away?"

The two siblings exchanged a look before Bianca let out a laugh at Thalia's question.

"Get away? Why would we want to get away?"

Thalia frowned, "Perseus, he kidnapped you. What has he done to you? Drop your sword, we'll get you back to Camp Half Blood!"

Bianca smiled at her but it wasn't the kind she was looking for. It was a mocking smile, her amusement at Thalia's offer quite clear.

"If you'd been smart, you would have stayed on the island."

"What's wrong with you? Don't you understand what your doing? You're siding with _him_! With the Titans!" Thalia demanded.

"Oh my gods," Nico grumbled. "Will you just shut up?!"

Thalia couldn't believe what she was hearing. It was barely a week since these two were scarred demigods just learning about themselves and now they acted like she was the naive one.

"Your going against the gods! Against your own father!" She snarled at them, her anger growing at the sight of their derisive smirks.

"How little you know," Bianca chided. "Perseus brought us to our father after you were gone. We're here on our father's bidding."

Thalia felt like she'd been punched in the stomach. She looked at her friends and saw the same looks of disbelief that she knew she had. Could it be true? Was Hades siding with the Titans, with Perseus against Olympus?

"We came here with a warning," Bianca continued. "Turn back now, while you still can. If you continue on, you're not going to like what you find at the end of this journey."

Thalia slowly felt her shock wear off. It was replaced by an anger that was simmering deep within her. She was tired to being the last to find things out. These newbie demigods being more informed than her was her breaking point.

She dove for her spear, snatching it up and rolling forward and onto her feet right beside Bianca. The daughter of Hades didn't react though. She simply smiled at her and kicked Luke in the back, sending him crashing into Thalia's legs and knocking her down.

Zoe and Phoebe were quick to react and had their bows in hand and arrows notched before Thalia even looked up.

The both fired at Bianca point blank. She should have been dead. But the arrows passed right through her, her body becoming a mere shadow and reappearing beside her brother.

Thalia looked at her in awe.

"How?" Was all she could say.

Bianca rolled her eyes, "Time moves differently in the Underworld. While you've been gone a week, we've been training for months. Be grateful we were told not to engage you."

"You're not gonna have a choice," Zoe growled. "You'll never leave this junkyard alive."

Nico knelt down to the ground and picked something up.

"If you'd paid attention, you'd know you were in Hephaestus' junkyard." He looked down at the object in his hand, "And, you know what, I hear he isn't a real big fan of people touching his stuff." He tossed the object at Thalia who caught it out of instinct. She looked at it in her hand, confused when she saw the small figurine of Zeus.

She looked back up and the two children of Hades were gone.

Then she fell to her knees, her hands on her ears as the screeching of metal dragging across metal blotted out every other sound. Luke yanked her back up to her feet just in time to see the enormous form of a metal creature rise from one of the biggest piles of junk.

"Gods," Zoe gasped. "It's Talos."

"No," Annabeth shook her head looking terrified. "It's not big enough."

Thalia wasn't sure what she meant by that. It had to be at least fifty feet tall, towering over them and everything else around them in the junkyard.

"It must be some kind of defective prototype." Luke muttered as he gawked at it. The rusted head turned in the direction of Luke, its glowing eyes staring right at him.

"I don't think it likes to be called defective." Thalia said nervously.

The sound of metal scraping against metal made Thalia's skin crawl as mini Talos drew a rusted blade from its metal scabbard.

"RUN!" Phoebe yelled as they turned on their heels and sprinted in the opposite direction.

They moved fast, around heaps of junk and deeper into the junkyard but Talos' enormous legs closed the distance on them in a matter of seconds. Zoe and Phoebe darted to the left, leaving the other three demigods running alone to the right.

Talos was nearly on top of them when the sound of metal clanking drew Thalia's attention. She looked back and saw Talos had stopped and was turning around. Zoe and Phoebe were firing arrows in rapid succession, aiming for anything that might have been vulnerable.

Phoebe managed to launch one up the giant's nostril but it merely leaned back and fired an oily snot rocket out. It hit the ground with a silver arrow sticking out from the black sludge.

"We have to help them!" Thalia said as she watching the two hunters start to backtrack.

"How?" Luke asked panicking.

Thalia didn't have an answer for that. She held her spear in hand but it was like a sewing needle to this giant automaton. As Talos stepped towards the two hunters, Thalia caught sight of a flapping piece of metal in the bottom of the giant's foot.

She ran forward and threw her spear like a javelin. It hit the automaton in the back of the knee and stuck there, causing the giant to pause, if only for a moment. Its attention was drawn back to Zoe and Phoebe when Zoe managed to fire an arrow into its ear. Thalia could heard it clanking around inside its metal head while the giant froze mid stride.

Thalia saw the flapping metal again and her eyes widened. Emblazoned on the outside of the unattached piece were the words, **ACCESS PANEL.**

"Luke, distract it." She said.

At first Luke was confused but then he saw it too. He looked at Thalia and realized what she wanted to do.

"No!" He said adamantly.

She didn't listen as she pulled out Aegis and ran towards the giant. She was nearly crushed under foot when Talos stumbled from a fresh barrage of silver arrows but she managed to roll away just in time.

She hurled her shield like a frisbee, hitting the automaton in the back of the leg and forcing it down on a knee. She made a dash for the panel but froze when she saw Luke dive inside before she could get there.

"NO!" She screamed but Luke was already gone. Talos rose back to its feet and turned its glowing eyes to Thalia. It took a step towards her and raised a foot to crush her.

Then its body stiffened. The light in its eyes flickered a bit and to turned awkwardly in the opposite direction.

"Luke!" She yelled. "Get out of there!"

She had no idea if he could hear her but somehow he seemed to be in control of the automaton as it made awkward and stiff steps away from her. Phoebe and Zoe ran over to her and pulled her to her feet. They started to run after the giant automaton as it stumbled across the junkyard.

"Wait!" Zoe yelled. "STOP!"

It was too late though. Talos walked right into a trio of power lines that ran across the junkyard.

As soon a its metal body touched the lines, electricity shot through its form, sparks flying off its body as it went stiff as a board. The light in its eyes went dim and then extinguished before it fell forward and collapsed it the ground in a steaming heap.

Thalia tried to run towards it but Zoe grabbed her and held her back.

"No! You can't!" She said struggling to hold the frantic daughter of Zeus back. "Look!" She pointed towards the head of Talos where the electrical lines were wrapped around it neck, sparks flying in every direction as the electricity continued to course through it.

"He's gone." Zoe said firmly. "I'm sorry Thalia, but he's gone."

"NO!" She screeched in protest still trying to get free. "NO! NOT LUKE! HE NEEDS OUR HELP!"

Phoebe came over and wrapped her up in a tight embrace, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Thalia. There's nothing we can do. We need to go!"

Thalia refused to listen and had to be carried out of the junkyard by Phoebe. They found Annabeth waiting by the fence looking terrified. When she realized Luke wasn't with them and saw Thalia's sobbing body being carried by Phoebe, she broke down as well.

Zoe scaled the fence and ran off to check ahead while Phoebe sat, still holding Thalia. Annabeth crawled over and the daughter of Apollo held open an arm and held her as well while the two demigods cried at the loss of their friend.

Thalia couldn't think straight enough to know how long they stayed there but when she heard an vehicle speeding towards them, Phoebe lifted them both to their feet. A older model pick-up truck pulled over towards them and then backed up through the fence. Zoe opened the door and frowned at the sight of the distraught demigods.

"Let's move," she said gently to Phoebe. Phoebe nodded and gestured Zoe over. She grabbed Annabeth and guided her to the truck, getting her into the passenger seat before looking at the limited space inside the cab.

"We'll ride in the bed," Phoebe said. "Let's just get moving." She led Thalia to the truck and lowered the rusted tailgate as they both climbed in, sitting with their backs against the cab. Zoe opened the back window but she didn't say anything. She and Phoebe just exchanged a look before they took off, heading down the highway in search of the first highway west, hoping to put as much distance as they could between them and that cursed junkyard.

They drove into the night, sticking to less traveled routes as they headed west. Once Thalia had cried herself out of tears, she lay curled up on the rough bed of the truck in silence, her mind replaying the events in the junkyard over and over. At some point, she drifted off to sleep, waking up and finding a silver blanket covering her shivering body. She looked over at Phoebe who sat with her back against the cab of the truck. Her eyes were closed but Thalia could sense she wasn't sleeping.

She sat up and slid herself back against the wheel well of the truck, keeping the blanket wrapped around her to protect her from the unforgiving winds. She watched Phoebe, eyes closed and unmoving as they sped down the empty desert road.

"I saw you." She said watching turning his gaze to the bed of the truck. "I saw what happened to you."

The huntress didn't open her eyes but Thalia could tell she was listening.

"When you woke me up on the train, the dream I had was about you. I saw how you came to be a hunter."

Phoebe opened one eye and Thalia could tell she was walking a fine line.

"I know it was him that saved you. He was a monster, even then. The way he killed those men, even if they deserved it, he was like an animal."

Phoebe didn't respond. She simply closed her eye again and Thalia assumed she was not interested in discussing it.

"Do you know what the worst part of all of it was?" Phoebe asked quietly. When Thalia didn't answer, she continued. "It wasn't the beatings or even being a slave. It was the nights. To this day, my dreams are haunted by what I heard during the nights of my enslavement."

Thalia wasn't sure what to say.

"I guess I was lucky. Apparently I was a little old for their tastes. They preferred the younger ones. I hear their screams still. They will haunt me until the day I day. It made no difference, boy or girl, they just liked them young. For the entire week we marched, I didn't sleep once. I could only sit for hours and listen to children as they cried and screamed for anyone to help them, to end their suffering."

Thalia felt the blood drain from her face. Phoebe's eyes were still shut as she spoke. Though her face didn't show it, her voice told held such a deep sadness it made her want to break down in tears.

"In reality, what I went through was nothing. Two weeks from the time I was captured until the time I was freed. A few beatings and lashings were nothing compared to what countless others endured."

"I... I..." Thalia didn't know what to say. "I didn't... I didn't know."

"You say you saw and animal. You know nothing of animals."

Thalia wanted to shrink down to nothing but she couldn't let this chance for answers pass.

"And now? Now you're on a quest to stop him?"

Phoebe shifted herself and tilted to her head back against the window, trying to get comfortable on the metal truck bed.

"That was two thousand years ago. Times have changed and so do people. I am bound by my oath of service. I do what is required of me."

Thalia wasn't sure what to make of that answer. It wasn't exactly a resounding declaration of dedication to stopping Perseus.

"I will do what I need to. It is my duty and my payment for a life more extraordinary than anything a simple peasant girl in ancient Greece could have dreamed of. You may question my personal feelings about it but never question my loyalty. My loyalty is absolute."

Thalia sat there and let the huntress' words sink in. She felt guilty for questioning her when she had been nothing short of steadfast in her efforts in aiding the quest. Even if Perseus had been the one who saved her, it was Artemis whom had given her her immortality and life as a huntress.

"I'm sorry." Thalia said quietly.

"For what?" Phoebe replied back. "Only a fool would continue on with someone who could be an enemy."

Thalia just nodded even if Phoebe wasn't looking at her. She leaned her head back and let the exhaustion of the day drag her back into a fitful slumber.

 **A.N: Another chapter down... And one was lost in the land without rain. Bear with me, everything in these past few chapters is building towards larger events in the story. Let me know what you thought, for the first time in a while, I'm actually having to stop myself from writing too much so I can function in real life.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Ch. 11**

They only stopped a few times on the drive from New Mexico to California. To use the bathroom, change drivers and to eat. Otherwise, they just drove, trying to put New Mexico and the junkyard of Hephaestus behind them. It took them almost a full day but as the sun began to rise, the city of San Fransisco appeared ahead of them.

They stopped inside the city and found a YMCA where they were able to shower and change their clothes, something they all were in dire need of after being on the move non-stop for nearly four days.

As they gathered around the pick up truck waiting for Phoebe, the mood was tense. They all knew they were close to the end of their journey but none had any idea what lay ahead.

"So," Thalia began. "Anyone have the prophecy figured out yet?"

"Well," Annabeth said, a look of sadness covering her face, "the one lost in the land without rain..." She didn't need to finish. Thalia realized how foolish her question had been, that was quite obvious.

"The hero, traitor and a fealty revealed," Zoe continued. "The traitor might be Hades, or that could be the fealty. Or maybe one refers to his kids and the other to him."

"Wait, a fealty?" Thalia asked. "I forgot that one. What's a fealty?"

"Loyalty," Annabeth said like it should be obvious. "It means allegiance."

"Yes," Zoe continued. "Like an allegiance to the Titans, meaning Hades. That is going to be a blow to the gods. They had probably assumed he'd just stay out of it. But one of the Big Three joining Kronos is bad."

"It seems like it fits the prophecy." Annabeth agreed. "Though I'm not sure who the hero they're referring to is."

"And we still don't know what secret was concealed." Thalia added, eyeing Zoe had averted her eyes to avoid Thalia's questioning gaze. Before Thalia could press her about it, Phoebe came walking from up the street. She held three bags of McDonalds in her hands, which immediately ended the discussion about the prophecy.

They devoured the fast food in minutes, their diet of gas station sandwiches and bottled water over the past couple days had left them desperate for something more substantial, even if McDonalds only loosely qualified.

As they nibbled the last of their fries, they all knew what was next.

"How far to Mount Othrys?" Annabeth finally asked, tired of watching everyone stall and try to put off the inevitable.

"Maybe a couple hours," Zoe said hesitantly. "We can drive most of the way but we'll need to go by foot to get to the mountain."

Thalia crumpled up one of the brown bags and tossed it into the bed of the truck, "Well, putting it off isn't going to change the fact we're probably all about to die. Let's just do it."

No one argued with her. They got into the truck, Phoebe and Zoe up front with Thalia and Annabeth in the back.

With the traffic, it was nearly four hours to get to the mountain, even with Zoe's insanely suicidal driving. The continued on an overgrown road for a while when the way became impassable, forcing them to ditch the truck and continue on foot. The sun was beginning its decent and Zoe was moving fast, urging them to keep up.

"Why are we hurrying?" Thalia complained.

"We can only enter in the hour of dusk," Phoebe answered.

"Enter where?" Annabeth asked trying to keep sight of Zoe who was becoming harder to see as the mist thickened in front of them.

"Here," Zoe replied as she stopped a few feet ahead of them. As they caught up with her, Thalia felt her breath catch.

The fog and mist cleared and before them lay a lush meadow of shadows and flowers. The entire area was gorgeous but their eyes were immediately drawn to the massive tree that stood near the back of the meadow. It had to be five stories tall, every branch was littered with glistening golden apples. They all stared, forcing themselves to ignore the pull of the divine fruit. The fragrance of the apples was so intoxicating, it beckoned them forward. They knew a single bite would be the most delicious thing they would ever taste.

"The apples of immortality," Annabeth said in wonder. "Hera's wedding gift from Zeus."

Coiled around the trunk of the enormous tree was a monster more terrifying than could be imagined. The hundred heads of Ladon, the guardian of the tree, were still, sleeping as he rested at his post.

The shadows in front of the group began to shift and move. Four figures shimmered into existence in front of them and Thalia noticed the way Zoe tensed at their arrival.

Four women in Greek chitons solidified in their path. They all had caramel colored skin, silky smooth long black hair and beautiful dark eyes. Their expressions were not friendly.

Thalia couldn't help but think they looked familiar, though she couldn't quite place why.

"Sisters," Zoe said coldly.

Thalia's eyes widened. Well, now she knew why they looked familiar. They looked a lot like Zoe; their skin, their faces, even their stern, disapproving expressions were spitting images of the huntress.

"We do not see any sister," one hissed back at her. "We see two half bloods and two hunters. All of whom shall soon be dead."

Phoebe pulled her bow from her back and then brought out an arrow, staring down at the four guardians of the garden.

"Is that a promise?" She challenged. "Because I simply love a to prove people wrong." She didn't draw back the string but she didn't need to. The four hesperides shuffled a bit, a noticeable tremor of fear running through them.

"We did not come here to fight. Step aside and let us pass. You have no right to deny passage to Mount Othrys." Zoe's words were confident and firm, though they did not seem to sway the four immortals in front of them.

"You wish your death to come at father's hand then?" One of the sisters asked with a mocking tone to the question.

Thalia was looking back and forth between the Hesperides and Zoe, trying to piece together what they were talking about.

"Step aside or be moved aside," Phoebe growled, drawing back her arrow and taking aim at the last one to speak.

"You'll never get to the mountain! Ladon will stop you!" She hissed, trying to glare at Zoe while also keeping an eye on Phoebe's arrow.

"He will not." Zoe said confidently. "Now move aside." Before they could respond, Zoe cupped her hands to her mouth, "Ladon! Wake!"

The Hesperides stared at her in shock.

"You fool!" One spat. "Now you shall surely die!"

Zoe glared at them, "You never did have any courage, sisters."

Behind them, the enormous hundred heads of Ladon all seemed to come to life. Their eyes flicked open and several hissed in the direction of Zoe and her friends.

The Hesperides sent a final collective glare at the group then shimmered out of existence.

"I hope you have a plan," Phoebe said as she trained her bow on the slowly rising monster.

"Yes," Zoe said slowly. "I will deal with Ladon. You three get up that mountain first chance you get."

"What?" Annabeth protested. "We're not leaving you!"

Zoe smiled but kept her eyes on Ladon, "It will be fine, I raised this dragon when he was just an infant. He will not harm me."

Zoe began to slowly walk forward. Annabeth tried to follow but Phoebe held out her arm to stop her.

"No," she whispered. "Trust her. Zoe knows what she's doing."

As Zoe slowly approached, Phoebe began to lead Annabeth and Thalia around the outer edges of the garden.

Zoe focused on keeping her breathing steady. She held her hands in front of her as she moved closer and closer to Ladon. Several of his heads hissed at her, filling the air with noxious dragon breath.

"It's me, Ladon. It's your Zoe." She said soothingly. "You remember me, I raised you as a infant, cared for you, loved you."

A dozen or so heads paused their hissing and tilted to the side, eyeing her closely. A flicker of recognition ran through their intelligent reptilian eyes.

"That's right, Ladon." She cooed, "It's just Zoe."

She tentatively raised a hand and a few head moved towards her, bumping the tops of their skulls against her hand, nuzzling it.

Zoe smiled, "Yes, shhhh. I've missed you so much, my old friend."

A quick scream from somewhere behind the giant monster made him go rigid. Dozens of heads whipped around to find Thalia trying to get back to her feet from where she'd tripped.

Zoe was already backing up when one of the heads lunged at her, clamping its teeth into her side. Zoe screamed in pain and the head threw her backwards, sending her crashing to the ground behind some bushes and out of sight.

"ZOE!" Annabeth cried out.

"RUN!" Phoebe yelled, shoving both demigods from behind and forcing them up the side of the mountain. She didn't let either look back until they had run for a good five minutes. She turned her head and saw the dragon was not following them.

"He can't follow. He is bound to the tree and will not leave it unguarded." She said panting from the sprint.

"But Zoe!" Annabeth protested but Phoebe could only purse her lips. She felt a sharp pain at the thought of seeing her closest friend being attacked, perhaps even killed. She knew Annabeth had grown quite fond of Zoe since she'd rescued her on the train but she also knew she needed to keep both demigods moving, they had an important task to complete and going back for Zoe would mean having to face Ladon. They would not survive a second encounter with such a dangerous beast.

"She'll be fine. It will take more than a single dragon bite to stop her. We need to keep moving, she'll catch up when she can."

Annabeth tried to protest but Phoebe grabbed her arm and dragged her up the mountain. Thalia followed behind, her mind was racing. She was worried about Zoe but also couldn't help herself from replaying the confrontation with the Hesperides. She was struggling to process the fact that Zoe was the sister of the Hesperides and that her father, whoever that was, was going to be up there when they reached the Titan stronghold. If he was going to be up there, he obviously was not an ally.

"Wait, wait." Thalia said as she stopped, grabbing Annabeth's arm and forcing Phoebe to stop as well. Annanbeth yelped at being tugged into two different directions.

"What?" Phoebe snapped.

"What haven't you told us?" Thalia said with narrowed eyes. "Who's Zoe's father? He's going to be up there? Why would he be in Mount Othrys?"

Phoebe's expression soured, clearly not interested in stopping to explain this right now. But when she saw Thalia's unflinching eyes, she knew she must.

"The Titan, Atlas," she said coldly. "Zoe's father is the Titan Atlas."

Thalia took a cautious step back, trying to pull Annabeth with her, but Phoebe held firm to the daughter of Athena.

"The traitor," Thalia said accusingly as the line from the prophecy ran through her mind.

Phoebe yanked Annabeth forward, out of Thalia's grasp and then lunged at the daughter of Zeus. She grabbed her by the shirt and pulled her close, their faces only inches apart.

"You would question Zoe? After all she has done to keep both of you alive?"

Thalia tried to return the glare but found herself unable to intimidate the huntress.

"But," she started. "The prophecy says..."

"You are a fool, Thalia. Think about the prophecy! What does the prophecy say about parents?"

Thalia looked at her confused, not able to think properly with Phoebe looking so angry.

"And one will perish by parent's hand." Phoebe recited, growling the words at the demigoddess. "She came despite the fact she knows its likely to her death. She was banished by her father and those miserable Hesperides millennia ago. If she's not already dead, she is very likely walking to her death."

Thalia took a step back, her face flushed but before she could respond, a new voice spoke from behind her.

"We need to keep moving."

She spun around and found Zoe gingerly walking towards them. Her expression was dark and she didn't meet anyone's eyes.

"You're hurt!" Annabeth said worriedly. Thalia noticed the crimson stain covering the right side of her silver parka and camouflage pants.

"It's just a scratch, it's not deep."

"But..." Annabeth tried to protest but Zoe walked past them and began to make her way up the mountain.

"She's tough," Phoebe tried to reassure Annabeth. "She'll be fine." She shot a glare at Thalia and then followed Zoe up the mountain.

After another fifteen minutes of hiking, Zoe and Phoebe slowed their paces. The area around them looked strange. Partially constructed pillars of stone, half build walls and unfinished statues of unknown people lay in front of them.

"This shouldn't be here." Zoe said shaking her head.

"What?" Thalia asked.

"This," she gestured around her. "The gods blasted Othrys to pieces in the first Titan War. This place... it's... it's reforming."

"Oh styx," Phoebe said as she froze.

They had reached the entrance to a cavern filled with partially built murals and unfinished thrones. But what drew their eyes was what they saw in the middle of the room.

A vortex of swirling wind came down through an opening in the roof of the cavern and landed on the struggling shoulders of a groaning guy in his early twenties. His sandy blonde hair was matted with sweat and his entire body was tense with veins popping out of his arms and neck. He looked like he was barely managing to keep himself upright, the funnel of wind pressing him down and trying to flatten him into the earth.

"Hermes," Phoebe said worriedly. "Oh gods."

"Impressive, right?" A voice boomed from the far side of the room. They all turned and paled when they saw the hulking form of a man step out of the shadows.

He was enormous, looking like a living statue carved from stone. He had dark, slicked back hair and deep grey eyes. A darker grey than Annabeth's eyes and much colder. His eyes shone with intelligence and malice. He wore a neatly pressed brown silk suit that failed to hide his thick muscular frame. His biceps looked ready to rip themselves out of his sleeves every time he moved.

Thalia felt her blood go cold at the sight of an actual living breathing Titan. He looked absolutely terrifying. She glanced at Zoe and then back at Atlas, noticing the unmistakable resemblance in their faces. They both had the same regal expression and identical cold look in their eyes, though Atlas' seemed much more evil.

But what was perhaps even more terrifying than the Titan himself, was the chained up goddess he dragged behind him. Annabeth's eyes welled up with tears at the sight of her bruised and bloodied mother as she could only feebly struggle while being dragged across the rough cavern floor. Atlas pulled her along, unmoved by the fact that a living, breathing being was bound in those chains.

Atlas set his eyes on Zoe, his lips curling into an almost pleased looking sneer.

"Ah, yes." He grinned. "There you are, Zoe. How is my little traitor?"

"Don't respond," Phoebe whispered. "Remember why we're here. Do not challenge him."

Zoe just glared at her father, the look of contempt she gave him would have sent a mortal running for cover.

"We've come for Athena and Hermes. Free them!" Thalia wasn't sure where she found the courage to speak but it did seem like the right thing to say.

Atlas' smile grew, "Oh, have you? That's cute, little demigod. But I'm afraid Athena and Hermes can't come out and play today. They've been quite naughty and we've had to ground them."

"We?" Thalia asked before she could stop herself.

A shadow solidified behind the Titan and the god Perseus appeared, his smile looking somehow even more excited than Atlas'.

"Did you forget about me?" He teased. He took two quick steps forward and kicked Athena in the face like he was kicking a field goal. Ichor splattered across the ground as the goddess went motionless.

"Stop it!" Annabeth screamed, tears running down her cheeks. "Please! Don't hurt her!"

Perseus looked down at Athena and then back to Annabeth before giving Thalia a look of disapproval, "Really, Thalia? What is she? Ten? eleven? Bringing a child that young to watch her mother die was a tad cruel. And if I'm the one saying it, well..." He seemed to be enjoying himself.

"Then let her go! Enough of this sick quest for vengeance!" Thalia spat back at him.

Perseus tilted his head to the side, cracking his neck. He tilted it the other way and cracked it again, making Thalia shiver.

"Shut up, child. You act like you know what you speak of but you're just as misinformed now then you were when I tried to help you."

"You're insane!" Thalia snarled back.

Perseus chuckled and then looked at Atlas, who looked thoroughly amused by this.

"I'm insane? You came with a group of demigods to try to free a pair of gods from two immortals. That is simply suicide. You're just a foolish pawn that Zeus has sent out to test the waters. Expendable cannon fodder for a father who cares nothing for you." He mocked.

Thalia pulled out her canister of mace and activated Aegis, though the shield had no effect on either Atlas or Perseus.

"You're going to fight us?" He laughed. "Please child, fighting mortals is below us. But if it's a fight you seek, I've got my own demigods who would be happy to prove themselves." He waved his hand and the two children of Hades materialized in front of him. They were draped in black armor, each holding a stygian iron sword in hand.

"Yes!" Atlas grinned. "Finally a fight! Save my daughter for last. She gets to die at my hand."

"Don't do this." Thalia pleaded with the two siblings. "He's just using you."

Nico and Bianca turned and gave each other quizzical looks.

"That's kinda funny," Nico laughed. "It's like she has no idea how hypocritical that statement is."

Bianca smirked and spun the sword in her hand, "It's actually kind of sad, brother."

"Of course he's using us, you idiot." Nico mocked her, "the difference is, he isn't lying about it. Your gods send you to fight immortals on your own. Our gods, they tell us exactly what they want from us. And we are more than happy to fight for them."

"And you?" Bianca continued. "Are you willing to fight and die for Zeus and the other Olympians?"

Thalia's voice abandoned her. She didn't know how to answer it. She didn't know what the answer to the question was.

"Enough talk!" Atlas barked. "Fight! Let's see some blood!"

The Di Angelos didn't even blink. Nico ran straight at Thalia while Bianca was engulfed by a shadow. She reappeared right next to Phoebe who barely managed to jump back from being impaled.

Nico slashed his sword towards Thalia's waist and she raised Aegis to block. Before she could attack back, Nico sent a jab at her legs, grazing her thigh and opening up a small gash. She stumbled back, wincing in pain.

Annabeth pulled out her dagger and attacked Nico from behind. For his young age, he was rather skilled and incredibly fast. He parried Annabeth's blade and made another swipe at Thalia. He jumped around, bouncing back and forth and keeping both girls off balance.

Bianca was going sword to hunting knives against Phoebe. Sparks flew wildly from their clashing blades, neither able to gain and advantage. Zoe had stepped back a few feet and pulled out her bow. She took aim, first at Bianca and then at Nico. Then she spun and fired three arrows in quick succession. The binds holding Athena snapped between her unmoving feet and hands. The third would have hit Perseus but his easily stepped aside and allowed the arrow to thunk against the cavern wall.

Neither Atlas or Perseus moved to grab Athena. She lay unmoving, so her freed limbs weren't very helpful at the moment.

Nico turned and backhanded Annabeth hard. The young child of Athena was knocked off her feet, landing hard on the back of her head. She groaned groggily on the ground, blood leaking from her nose as she rolled around in a haze.

Thalia felt a surge of energy run through her at the sight of Annabeth laying injured. She charged at Nico, thrusting her spear at his neck. The son of Hades blocked with his sword and Thalia slammed Aegis into his chest, knocking him backwards.

She charged forward and jabbed at his stomach and forced him to jump backwards. When he did, she raised her spear and a single tendril of electricity shot out of the vortex on Hermes' shoulders and hit the tip of her weapon. She jumped and then stabbed at Nico's leg. He dodged but not enough. Her spear hit his outer thigh and his body went stiff as a board, convulsing and then collapsing backwards as the electrical currents ran through him.

She raised her spear, preparing to finish him off when she felt something hit her leg. She looked up and saw Perseus throwing small rocks at her. She was so shocked and confused that she was temporarily frozen.

Before she could gather her wits, she saw a blur of silver beside her. She turned and her jaw dropped when she saw Artemis appear on her left. Then a golden light flashed on her other side. She turned and was stunned to see the god Apollo, in full battle armor and bow in hand on her left.

"Well, well well." Atlas grinned. "This," he spread his hands, "is starting to get interesting."

"That's enough, little brother." Apollo said with steel in his voice.

All amusement left Perseus' face. He straightened up and the jeans and hoody he was wearing were replaced with black battle armor. His sword was gripped in his hand and he kept his eyes trained on Apollo.

"You would dare to call me brother?" Perseus' voice was so venomous, Thalia flinched despite the fact his words weren't spoken to her. "I'm going to make you fade, you jealous little bitch. I'm going to show you why I was always better than you in every way."

Thalia looked at Apollo and noticed a slight shiver run down his spine. She suddenly felt left confident with Apollo next to her, he was clearly worried about his ability to best his sibling.

Artemis was silent. She did not have the look of anger that Apollo did. Instead, she kept her face more stoic, though she noticed she kept her eyes on Atlas, instead of Perseus.

For a few moments, the four immortals just stared at each other. Then, when Bianca cried out as Phoebe opened up a gash on her lower back, it was like the bell ringing to start of madness.

Apollo tried to fire his bow but Perseus was way too fast. He closed the distance between them in less than a second, swatting aside every arrow Apollo fired. Instead of trying to run him through, Perseus lowered his shoulder and speared Apollo at the waist, sending them both crashing to the ground. They rolled around a few times but Perseus ended up on top. His fists were barely more than blurs, slamming into the sun god's face over and over.

Atlas charged at Artemis. His suit vanished at was replaced by traditional Greek armor. A javelin appeared in his hands and his tried to run the moon goddess through right off the bat. Fortunately for Artemis, she was fast. She was was a blur of silver, darting around and using a pair of hunting knives to deflect blows from the Titan.

Thalia's mind felt like jell-o. She looked back and forth between the two separate battles of immortals.

Apollo had managed to get free from Perseus and the two were locked in battle. Neither used weapons, the were fighting hand to hand, delivering blows that could have turned mountains to rubble.

Artemis was keeping the Titan Atlas at bay, but it was tough. For all his strength, the Titan seemed to lose nothing in speed. He was so fast, Artemis could only defend herself, unable to attack back.

Thalia spun around when she heard Apollo cry out in pain.

Perseus had him pinned against the wall and was pounding his face with right hands. He tried to raise his hands to protect his face but Perseus was relentless.

In less than a minute of battle, Thalia knew that Artemis and Apollo were fighting losing battles. Both were outmatched and it was only a matter of time until they were defeated. She didn't know what to do.

"The prophecy," a weak voice said in her mind. "Thalia, the remember the prophecy." She looked down at saw Annabeth on the ground in front of her. Her face was swollen, her nose bent at an unnatural angle. She was looking at Thalia expectantly, her lips repeating moving but no words coming out.

Thalia's mind raced. She recited the prophecy in her head, trying to figure out what Annabeth meant.

The Titan's curse must one withstand.

It was like a lightbulb going off in her head. She turned and looked at Hermes still struggling under the weight of the sky. Before her brain could fully process what she was about to do, she ran towards the messenger god.

"Hermes!" She said frantically. "Give me the sky! I'll hold it! You help Artemis and Apollo!"

"No," Hermes groaned out. "It must be held by an immortal. It'll crush you."

She growled under her breath and stepped up beside the god. She raised her hands and almost fell to the ground. The weight she felt was staggering. She forced herself to push against it harder, her arms burning with a level of pain she didn't know existed.

"Go!" She grunted. "Please! If you don't help, we'll all die."

Hermes didn't respond. But a few seconds later, the pain in her shoulders and arms increased tenfold. Her vision blurred but she could faintly make out the image of Hermes rolling out from under the sky. Despite his exhaustion, he sprang into action. He ran at Atlas and smacked him in the back with his freshly conjured caduceus, giving Artemis a chance to go on the attack.

Then he turned and tackled Perseus as he continued to smash Apollo's face like it was a speed bag.

The two gods rolled around until Perseus sprang to his feet, his sword appearing in his hand.

Apollo conjured a sword of his own and stood beside Hermes.

"Good!" Perseus roared. "Finally a worthy challenge!" Before they could react, he charged at them. The only word to describe his skills was godly. He went toe to toe with two Olympians, alternating between the two and moving too fast for them to flank him.

Between the speed of their movements and her blurry vision under the sky, Thalia struggled to watch the battle. She tried to ignore the incredible pain she felt but it was simply too much for a mortal to endure.

That was until the blurs in front of her solidified.

Hermes had managed to sneak behind Perseus and knock the blade from his grasp. Before he could recover he wrapped him in a bear hug and pinned his arms behind his back. Apollo was panting in exhaustion but forced himself to move. He held a bronze sword in his hand and raised it over his head, preparing to strike his younger brother down.

Then the sun god stumbled forward, crying out in pain. Thalia would have screamed if she could have done anything but groan. They were so close to finishing him off and ending this madness.

A half dozen silver arrows stuck out of Apollo's back. They sent him stumbling forward in pain and surprise. He spun around and saw both Zoe and Phoebe with their bows drawn, aimed right at him.

Thalia wanted to cry. She'd had moments of doubt over the past few days, especially after her dream about Phoebe. But to see both Phoebe and Zoe attack Apollo to protect Perseus, was still too shocking for her to full comprehend.

Apollo turned, looking at the hunters in disbelief. Thalia knew they were about to be destroyed when Perseus suddenly flung his head back and smashed it into Hermes' nose. Hermes lost his grip on Perseus who spun around and blasted him away with a surge of dark energy.

No one else saw it, but Thalia noticed Athena was no longer in her spot on the ground. Covered in her own ichor, the goddess appeared in front of the two hunters. She raised a spear right in front of Zoe who couldn't scramble away in time.

As she brought down the blow, a streak of blonde crashed into Zoe and sent her flying into Phoebe. Athena couldn't stop the strike in time. She drove her spear right into the chest of her daughter.

Athena let go of the weapon, her eyes wide in shock as she stared at her daughter.

Annabeth staggered a bit then collapsed to the ground, the spear impaled into her chest and jutting out of her back.

"No! No!" Athena cried, tears welling up her eyes as she looked at her dying child. Before she could try to save her, she was yanked backwards. A thin golden wire was around her neck, a garrote. Perseus yanked her backwards and tightened the wire around her neck.

"Enough!" The god of night boomed. "Get back!"

Hermes reappeared beside Apollo and they both took a step back. Artemis jumped away from Atlas and appeared beside Apollo and Hermes, all looking too terrified to react.

"Back under the sky, Hermes." Perseus spat. When Hermes didn't move, he wrenched on the garrote. "Do it now, or she dies!"

Hermes stared at Athena and then at Perseus.

"You'll kill her anyway."

"On the styx, I will not kill her if you get back under the sky." Perseus sneered.

Thunder rumbled overhead and Hermes continued to stare at his former friend.

"Now!" Perseus snapped.

"Don't," Apollo warned. Hermes didn't acknowledge him though. He knew what would happen if his father learned he'd let Athena die. With a final look at Athena, Hermes walked to Thalia. He slipped under the sky and used his foot to kick Thalia out from under the burden.

She hit the ground and collapsed, greedily sucking air into her lungs.

"Good," Perseus grinned. "Come to me," he said, his eyes turning to Zoe and Phoebe.

The huntresses didn't hesitate. The approached the god and knelt down, their face right next to Athena's as they bowed before the god.

"Traitors!" Thalia screamed. "You filthy traitors!"

Phoebe turned her head and gave her a look of sympathy.

"To be a traitor," Zoe replied. "Our loyalty would have to change."

"AGHHHHHHH!" Thalia screamed. "This whole time! You've been planning to betray us since we started this quest!"

Zoe didn't respond to her. She lowered her head again in front of Perseus.

"Rise, my friends." Perseus said smiling down at them. "You have done well."

Thalia looked back at Apollo and Artemis. The look of hurt was impossible to miss on Artemis' face, though she also didn't seem as stunned as she should have considering two of her oldest hunters had just betrayed her and all of Olympus.

Atlas approached Perseus, his eyes moving down to his daughter who was now standing beside his ally. It was clear this new development was as much of a surprise to him as it was to everyone else.

"What is this?" He asked, eyeing Perseus closely.

"I told you, Atlas, I had the quest under control." He answered simply. "Everything unfolded exactly as I predicted."

Atlas' eyes flicked over to the twin Olympians, "And her? Is your wife with us as well?"

Thalia couldn't hold in her gasp. She stared at Artemis uncomprehendingly.

Perseus growled under his breath, "No she's not, you fool!"

"You and Artemis?" Thalia said in disbelief. "That's your wife?"

The look that covered Perseus' face dropped the temperature in the room about ten degrees.

"She's not my wife." He snapped. "At least not once she's rotting in Tartarus!"

If possible, the look on Artemis' face became even more saddened.

"Enough talk!" Perseus growled. "Finish this one!"

He wrenched Athena around by the neck with the garrote and turned her towards Atlas. The titan got over his confusion quickly and grinned widely.

"Ah, yes! The first blood in a new war!" He raised his javelin to bring down the fatal blow.

Artemis and Apollo both tried to run towards the titan when a wave of silver flew at them from behind Perseus. The huntresses' arrows did little to injure the Olympians but slowed them down just enough.

Atlas' javelin went through the top of Athena's head like a knife through butter. Golden ichor splattered out in all directions, covering Perseus' and Atlas's legs.

"NO!" Artemis screamed as she watched Athena's body slowly start to dissolve into a brilliant golden dust.

"YOU LIED!" Hermes roared from under the sky.

Perseus glanced back at the messenger god and smirked, "Whaaaat? Me? No way, I was just an innocent bystander."

Atlas turned towards Apollo and Artemis, his grin threatening to spit his face in two.

"Well, one down. I've got time for a couple more."

Artemis ran forward and Atlas prepared for a fight. But the goddess turned left and snatched Thalia off the ground. She didn't stop running until she was at the entrance to the cave. Her head turned and her silver eyes met the dark ones of Perseus, the only god she had ever loved.

She wasn't sure what she expected to find there but whatever it was, she didn't find it.

"We need to go." Apollo whispered as his body shimmered and vanished into a golden light.

Artemis kept her eyes on Perseus for another moment before she and Thalia disappeared into a silver light.

"Why didn't you stop them?" Atlas growled at Perseus.

Perseus stared at the spot where Artemis had been for a moment and then shook his head.

"In time, my friend. We've taken out Zeus' best battle strategist. Let them go report back to Olympus. We aren't ready for a full scale war with the gods yet. We still have much left to do."

Atlas didn't seem pleased but he didn't argue. He turned and looked at Zoe, who was standing beside Phoebe and the two Di Angelos. They were helping to treat the children of Hades from their wounds.

"And her?" Atlas grunted nodding his head at Zoe.

"She's under my protection. I don't care about the past. I was the one who freed you and I was the one who's recruited all of our allies. These two have been my eyes and ears for two millennia. They're untouchable."

Perseus stared at the titan, waiting for him to protest but Atlas simply grunted and turned to walk away.

Perseus waited until the titan was out of sight before approaching the two huntresses.

"Are you two okay?" It was clear he wasn't asking about how they were physically.

They exchanged a look, it was clear they didn't like having to betray Artemis and Thalia.

"We trust you," Phoebe nodded.

Perseus put a hand on her shoulder and gave it a soft squeeze. He did the same to Zoe.

"Thank you, my friends."

Zoe's eyes turned to the unmoving body of Annabeth.

"She died to save me." Her voice was thick with guilt and regret.

Perseus raised his hand and then waved it, Annabeth's body shimmering and then vanishing.

"She will go to Elysium. I will make sure Hades gives her her just reward."

Zoe gave him a small smile of gratitude.

"So what now?" Phoebe asked.

"I have many plans in motion as we speak. Rest and relax for now, we still have much left to do before we are ready."

 **A.N: I'm just gonna say it now: If you don't like Artemis being Perseus' wife, get over it. They're gods, it's common. Its not changing, so deal with it. Other than that, what'd you think? Well, Athena and Annabeth are dead... So that's different, lol. And for those who thought Luke was coming back... He's not. But tell me what you thought, I use your feedback when I write future chapters.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Ch. 12**

Thalia felt like her body had been split into a million different pieces. When she felt it all come back together, she opened her eyes and found herself in a secluded area of a forest. She looked around, confused on how she'd gotten there.

Then she heard it.

She turned and saw Artemis and Apollo standing face to face. Their faces were only inches apart as they hissed at each other in ancient Greek. They spoke too quickly for Thalia to comprehend anything they were saying and it ended when Artemis shoved Apollo backwards, hard.

The sun god stumbled back before catching himself.

Apollo's face, which had already healed considerably, was still a sight to see. He looked like he'd gone twelve rounds in a boxing ring, and not been on the winning side. His features were swollen, his nose crooked and teeth stained an unsettling golden color.

He looked like he was going to attack his sister but stopped when he noticed Thalia looking at them.

"Father is demanding us on Olympus. Bring the demigod." He spat.

He didn't wait for Artemis to reply, he body began to glow and Thalia averted her eyes to avoid being incinerated.

Once he was gone, Artemis' shoulders sagged and her previously stiff posture disappeared. She looked ready to collapse.

"My lady?" Thalia wasn't really sure what to say. She still hadn't fully comprehended everything that'd happened. Her two best friends were now dead. The goddess Athena had been slain, though she wasn't sure what that meant for an immortal. Her other two quest mates had betrayed both her and the gods and were in league with Perseus and the titans. And if that hadn't been enough, the _maiden_ goddess in front of her, turned out to be the wife of the crazy guy who'd just sent two Olympians running, imprisoned another and killed a fourth.

 _Yeah, it was a lot to process._

Artemis turned her head but she didn't reply. She lowered herself to the ground and buried her face in her hands. She made no sound, but Thalia could see her body shaking with silent sobs.

Ignoring all that had happened and she'd learned, Thalia did the only thing that came naturally. She walked up to the goddess and sat down beside her. She placed her hand on Artemis' back and was shocked when the goddess turned and buried her head in her shoulder.

Thalia patted her back awkwardly, she could feel the shoulder of her shirt getting wet from the goddess' tears.

"It's okay, my lady. It's gonna be okay." She tried to reassure her, though she wasn't sure her words sounded very convincing. She really wasn't even sure what she was saying would be okay.

It took a minute before the goddess seemed to reel her emotions back in. She pulled back and Thalia was surprised again to find her in her eighteen year old form. She hadn't thought of it, but she'd been like that on Mount Othrys too. She wondered if had anything to do with Perseus but she decided that wasn't really important at the moment.

"I'm sorry," Artemis cleared her throat. "I shouldn't have done that with you right here."

Thalia frowned a little, "What? Be upset?"

"I'm an Olympian Goddess," Artemis tried to sound confident.

"It's okay," Thalia replied. "I imagine even gods and goddesses have emotions. You don't need to feel ashamed."

Artemis' faced flushed a little and she only nodded, probably to avoid breaking down again, Thalia thought.

There was a silence between the two where neither were quite sure what to say.

"Are we supposed to be on Olympus or something?" Thalia finally asked, remembering Apollo's final words.

"Yes," Artemis answered. "But I thought we should talk first."

"Talk?"

"Yes," the goddess nodded. "About what happened and what you learned. I'm sure you have many questions."

Thalia was surprised. She hadn't expected any kind of explanation.

"Yeah," she agreed. "That's a bit of an understatement."

Artemis held out her hands, indicating that she was ready to answer.

"He's your husband? I thought he was like your brother? I had these dreams..." She stopped herself, unsure why she mentioned the dreams she'd had. Artemis looked surprised at the mention of her dreams but then seemed to understand.

"Gods and goddesses," she started then paused, never having had to explain this to anyone before. "Well, it's different. Yes, he is my brother but gods don't have the same kind of connection with their siblings as mortals. If we followed the same taboos, no gods would ever marry, we are all connected through familial relations in one way or another."

"Okay," Thalia said accepting that, knowing that gods and goddesses often married their siblings, her father included. "But you're like goddess of maidens, aren't you?"

Artemis cheeks burned and turned a shade of gold, which Thalia thought was weird looking.

"I am," she said then stopped. "Or, I am now. It's complicated."

Thalia didn't respond, waiting to see if the goddess was going to elaborate. Artemis wasn't looking at her and Thalia was about to ask another question when the goddess spoke.

"I'm not really the goddess of maidens. I'm more like a patron for all young women, maidens included. It wasn't until after Perseus was thrown into Tartarus that Zeus gave me that title. The story of coming to Zeus and asking to forever be a maiden was a tale he created to cover up the existence of my banished husband."

"So," Thalia added, "You're not a maiden?"

Artemis turned and glared at her, her cheeks now appearing to glow from the blush that had crept onto her face.

"Sorry," Thalia quickly added. "That's not my business."

"No," Artemis grumbled and Thalia wasn't sure if that was in response to the question or to it not being her business.

"And you betrayed Perseus?" She asked then quickly continued when the goddess got a dangerous look in her eyes. "That's what Perseus said. I'm just not sure what he told me that was true and wasn't true."

"It's complicated." Artemis said coldly, obviously not pleased to be answering the question.

"What about your hunters? The ones who just betrayed us." Thalia asked, her expression darkening at the thought of their betrayal. She expected to see the same look on Artemis but didn't. Instead, the goddess just seemed sad, though not even as much as she expected.

"Those two were my companions for over two thousand years." Artemis said forlornly. "I had hoped I had earned their loyalty but it seems I was wrong."

"Don't they swear an oath of service to you or something?" Thalia growled, her anger only growing at the thought of how she had grown to trust and care for both of them.

"Most do," she nodded. "But it wasn't I who rescued either of them. Perseus saved them and brought them to me. They never swore an oath to me."

"What do you mean? How could they be hunters and not sworn to serve you as your immortal maidens?"

Artemis frowned, "It was a different time and I was a different goddess. Yes, my hunters have always been my immortal maidens but when they joined me, I was not alone. They were sworn to serve both me and Perseus. It seems that they have chosen their side and I was not it."

"Perseus was apart of the hunt?"

Artemis expression became flustered, a look of annoyance creeping onto her face.

"The hunt wasn't like it is now. It's not that important. They've sided with Perseus, I'll deal with it and them in time. For now, all you need to know is they're his allies, not ours."

Thalia shrunk back a little as Artemis' mood soured. She wasn't sure what else to say because she didn't want to anger an emotional goddess. Doing that tended to get demigods incinerated, at least according to the legends.

"Okay." Thalia said, "Should we go to Olympus?"

The look of trepidation on Artemis' face made Thalia suddenly regret the suggestion.

"Yes," the goddess said quietly. "We'll have to deal with Zeus' anger and it's better to do it now before it grows." She rose to her feet and held out her hand.

Thalia looked at it for a minute as she began to dread seeing her father and the rest of the Olympians after everything that'd happened. Realizing she had no choice, she took it and she and Artemis both vanished in flash of silver.

Thalia had expected to appear in the middle of the throne room on Olympus. Instead, they solidified in a small courtyard. She felt her jaw drop when she looked around. If she'd thought the Garden of the Hesperides had been beautiful, this was on a whole new level.

Flowers of the brightest colors covered every bush and shrug. The grass beneath her feet was the most lush green she'd ever seen. It felt like a gentle cushion beneath her feet. There were statues of different gods and goddesses spread throughout the garden and she became so engrossed in the sights around her, she almost forgot about Artemis and why they were there.

"Come," Artemis said firmly.

Thalia looked up and almost gasped when she saw the enormous building in front of them. It was huge. Made of stone and marble, the building looked like it was a temple taken straight out of ancient Greece. Huge pillars stood at the top of a set of wide stairs, leading to two towering doors. Fires blazed in braziers on the sides of the steps, forming a wide aisle that led to the entrance.

Thalia felt a sharp pain in her heart when she thought about Annabeth and her love of architecture. She'd always wished to see the home of the gods, though that would never happen now.

Artemis made her way to the steps and Thalia followed. When they reached the top, the doors opened on their own accord, giving way to a massive hall inside. As they stepped in, Thalia could only gape at the sheer size of the room. It was the size of Madison Square Garden but filled with elaborate murals and paintings of gods and goddesses, battles and great victories.

She was so distracted by the art, she failed to notice the twelve thrones sitting in the center of the room in a large U shape. Artemis nudged her and walked inside, growing to a height of fifteen feet and making her way down the row of thrones for the goddesses.

That was when Thalia saw all the Olympians, seated in their thrones and eyes on her as she slowly made her way inside. She gawked at the gods, a few she knew, others she could guess.

Apollo sat directly across from Artemis, though he had his head down, not looking up at her or anyone else in the room. She saw Dionysus munching on a grape in his throne, barely looking at her to acknowledge her presence. Beside him was a hulking man with a weathered face that was covered in scars and blazing infernos where his eyes should have been.

 _Ares she assumed._

Next to him was a haggard looking man who was tinkering with something in his hands, though his eyes were trained on her. He had a large metal brace on his leg.

 _The lame god Hephaestus she realized._

Between him and Apollo was an empty throne and she quickly figured out that it must be Hermes', who obviously was not able to be in attendance.

After him was a handsome but stern looking man with a neatly trimmed black beard. His throne looked like one of those deep sea fishing chairs that people strapped themselves into when reeling in big fish. It was complete with a holster for a pole, though it was now occupied by a huge bronze trident.

 _Poseidon._

That only left one male god. She quickly walked towards that throne and knelt in front of it, at the feet of her father, Zeus. She'd never met her father before but found her expectations not quite met when she looked upon the god who created her.

"Rise, child." Zeus boomed from above her.

She slowly did, giving the other side of the room a quick glance.

She saw Artemis siting beside a gorgeous woman who was currently looking at her face in a mirror, dabbing a finger to her face in search of a flaw that obviously didn't exist.

 _The goddess of love, Aphrodite._

Next to her was what looked like a throne, or what used to be one. It was broken in several places, the arms of the marble seat broken off and laying on the ground beside it. She felt her stomach knot up as she realized this must have been Athena's throne. The destruction of her throne must have been a result of her falling at the hands of Perseus and Atlas.

Beside her was a beautiful green eyed goddess who was currently enjoying a bowl of cereal. Given who she already knew was on the other side, she figured this had to be Demeter, the Goddess of Grain and Harvest.

In a shimmering dress next to Demeter was the goddess she least liked seeing. She'd never met Hera but considering the murderous look she was sending her way right then, she had been glad to have never crossed her path before.

"Apollo had given us his tale of the events of your quest," Zeus thundered from his throne, "but I would like to hear it from you. Tell us everything, from the start."

Thalia felt a little lightheaded. She wasn't sure if it was her nervousness or perhaps just being in the presence of so many immortal beings.

But she steeled her nerves and began to recount her tale, starting with the arrival of the oracle in the woods of camp until she watched Athena be killed at the hands of a titan.

The entire council listened intently as she spoke. Once she was finished, she wasn't sure what to say or do, so she dropped back down to a knee and waited for her father to speak.

As the silence lingered, Thalia couldn't help but sneak a peak up at Zeus.

She watched his knuckles turn white as they gripped the arms of his throne. She thought he was going to obliterate her. But he moved too fast for her mortal eyes to properly follow. He was standing and had already thrown by the time she realized what happened.

The sound of Zeus' bolt hitting Apollo reverberated throughout the room. It was like a sonic boom and Thalia was certain her ear drums had just burst. The sun god was blasted out of his seat and to the floor, his body convulsing as millions of volts of electricity coursed through it.

Zeus stepped forward and Thalia had to scramble away to avoid being trampled. The bolt reappeared in Zeus' hand, cocked and ready to be fired again.

"I FORBID YOU TO INTERFERE WITH THE QUEST!" The king of the gods boomed. He shot a look at Artemis who was unsuccessfully trying to crawl inside her throne.

"Brother!" Poseidon thundered.

Zeus turned, his expression still murderous.

"Hades has already turned against us. So has Hecate and who knows how many other minor gods. The forces of the enemy are growing stronger, this is not for time fighting amongst us. We must rally together if we're going to survive this war."

Zeus glared at his sibling then turned back to Apollo who was laying on the ground, smoking from the bolt.

"Get back in your throne, boy. I will deal with your insubordination later."

Thalia had no idea how, but Apollo managed to crawl back to his throne and sit, though he looked like he was about to pass out at any second.

Zeus stood in the middle of the throne room. He looked around at the Olympians in attendance and Thalia could have sworn the look he gave was accusatory, like he was trying to find a traitor in their midst.

"From this point on, I want zero contact with the mortal world. We will concentrate our efforts on securing the allegiance of every immortal we can. Is that understood?"

Despite how terrified she'd looked a moment ago, Artemis' expression became indignant.

"But father, my hunters..."

Zeus' electric blue eyes snapped to her, his rage was barely restrained as he looked at her.

"I should have killed them all when I had the chance! Those traitors are of no concern. Disobey me again child, and I will show you the true wrath that awaits any who oppose Olympus."

Artemis didn't respond but the look in her eyes showed nothing but pure hatred. Thalia wasn't sure what to think of it, part of her couldn't blame her while the other was worried that Zeus had just sent another ally to the titans.

Of course, that would mean Perseus would allow her to join them, and from what she'd seen, that was the last thing he would let happen.

Zeus sat back down in his throne, his brooding expression was a pretty clear indication of his mood.

"Go! You have my orders! If it's a war of immortals they want, then they shall face the full might of Olympus!"

One by one, the Olympian vanished from their thrones. Artemis stood up and looked at her father.

"And what of Thalia?"

Zeus apparently had forgotten she was even there. He scowled a bit and didn't even look down at her.

"Return her to camp." He barked, then narrowed his eyes at Artemis, "But you will not speak to your hunters. Is that understood? I have yet to decide what I'll do with them."

Artemis seemed to be doing everything in her power to hold in the response she really wanted to give. But her self control won out and she bowed her head to Zeus.

"As you wish, Lord Zeus."

Zeus vanished in a flash of light and Thalia and Artemis were left alone inside the massive hall of the gods.

Once he was gone, Artemis' face turned an ugly shade of red. Thalia half expected her to start smashing thrones but she instead just held out a hand.

Thalia nervously stepped towards the goddess.

"My lady?"

Artemis shrunk down to her mortal height and sighed, "Please keep an eye on my hunters, if you can."

"I'll try," Thalia answered.

"Thank you." Artemis forced a smile.

"My lady?" Thalia asked.

Artemis raised an eyebrow.

"What happened," she wasn't sure how to word the question. "To Athena? I mean, she's immortal but..."

Artemis frowned, "She will have to reform. Her physical form was destroyed. So she'll have to reform before she can reenter the world in a physical body."

"She's not dead?"

"No," Artemis shook her head. "It takes an immortal varying amounts of time to reform but it is not a quick process."

Thalia nodded and held out her hand as he goddess flashed them out of Olympus.

 **A.N: Short filler. More entertaining chapters to come. And for those who think you've figured out what's happening... I can honestly tell you that no one has guessed correctly. So stay tuned and let me know what you thought.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Ch. 13**

Life at Camp Half Blood had taken a turn for the morose.

In the months that followed the battle on Mount Othrys, camp was nothing like the one Thalia had left.

Even with the gods cutting off contact with the mortal world and Thalia keeping her mouth shut, word of the events on Mount Othrys spread like wild fire. The slaying of the goddess Athena had flipped the worlds of the demigods upside down. If an immortal Olympian goddess could be killed then what chance would they have against the titan threat? Never before had the campers even imagined what it would be like for an Olympian to fall.

They had been taught that the gods were infallible. They now knew that wasn't true. And the same force that felled the goddess was setting its sights on Olympus. And the only obstacle between the titans and their targets, were the demigods.

The deaths of Annabeth and Luke weighed heavily on the campers as well. Luke had been one of the leaders in camp and his loss left a void that could not be easily filled. He was the head of the Hermes cabin and also someone the campers, young and old, could come to when they needed help. Someone they could rally behind when things were bleak. Without him, they lacked someone capable of unifying the heroes and bringing out the courage needed to face the impending threat.

Annabeth had been universally loved by most of the campers. Her constant curiosity and thirst for knowledge had endeared her to most of her fellow campers. Her death at such a young age was a tragedy the campers struggled to accept.

It was true, campers had died before. But they tended to be older and fell at the hands of a monster or during a dangerous quest. To lose two campers in one quest, coupled with the fates of Athena and Hermes, it was a deep blow to the morale amongst heroes.

News of events on Othrys had another effect of the demigods. Slowly but in growing frequency, demigods began to disappear from camp. Their absences were only spoken about in hushed whispers but it was generally well known that their depleted numbers were a result of defections.

Demigods sneaking away from camp and making their way to the titan army, though no one was quite sure where that was or what happened to those who tried to find it.

The Hermes cabin was hit hardest. The unclaimed campers were the first to vanish. At first their absences had gone unnoticed, but as the number grew, it became clear the unclaimed had become disillusioned with Camp Half Blood and sought somewhere else to put their faith and their loyalty.

Adding to the overall bleak atmosphere at camp was the sudden permanent residency of the hunters. They hadn't left camp since the quest and though they boosted numbers, they weren't exactly a joy to be around.

Thalia had even noticed a few of the hunters had gone missing. Though no one dared ask them about it, Thalia was pretty sure Zoe and Phoebe had managed to lure away a few of their sisters to join their cause.

The hunters did not interact with the campers. They came to meals and then trained on their own in the forest. It wasn't unwelcome but it did add another level of tension to camp.

Thalia had been going stir crazy. It was five months since Artemis had dropped her off in camp and there had been nothing from the gods. No quests, no visits, no prophecies, just silence. It made her resentment towards the gods grow. She knew the enemy was just preparing itself. They would make a move soon and the silence from the Olympians left her and the rest of the campers in the dark. Simply waiting to be thrust into a fight that she wondered how much the campers even wanted to fight.

She stepped out of her cabin for their usual Friday night game of capture the flag. The hunters hadn't taken part since before the quest, so it would be campers versus campers yet again. She had made alliances with the Hermes and Athena cabins for the game.

She liked to think she did it for strategic reasons, but considering she always sided with both cabins, she knew better. She was doing it as a way to pay homage to her two dead friends. Even if they weren't there anymore, she felt a small amount of comfort to fight beside their siblings.

As they made their preparations, Thalia was sent to her usual post of guarding of the flag. It was a good strategy, considering that with her lightning powers, she was a difficult obstacle to overcome, even if she was by herself. More than one Ares camper had promised her a glorious death, but they usually shut up when she sent a tendril of electricity coursing through their bodies.

She heard the conch horn blow and waited. She leaned against an oak tree, the flag in sight but far enough away where she'd be out of view of any approaching enemies. She could hear the sounds of battle in the distance but they didn't seem to be coming any closer.

As she waited for the other team to make a play for the flag, she felt a cold shiver run through her body. The hairs on the back of her neck tingled, the undeniable sensation of being watched making her senses snap to attention.

She spun around but in the dim moonlight, she saw nothing. No glint of bronze armor or weapons, her huffing and puffing children of Ares, winded from running through the forest.

Her eyes narrowed and she began to walk forward, away from her post of flag guard. Her steps were slow and stealthy, soundless as her ears tried to pick up the sound of an enemy.

" _This way,_ " a soft whisper carried through the silent forest. She couldn't tell who it came from but she grinned at the thought of ambushing a couple children of Ares.

She was so focused on listening for another sound, she didn't notice how far she was getting from her flag. Her mind was in predator mode and ignored the rational part of her brain that would have told her she was too far from the flag.

She barely noticed that rock formation that made up Zeus' fist as she approached it.

She heard a twig snap and ran forward. She raised her spear and charged ahead. She saw two shadows sprint into a small opening at the base of the rocks. She had to turn her body sideways and the rational part of her brain finally broke through, screaming at her that this was incredibly stupid.

One of the shadowy figures spun around and she couldn't stop the gasp from escaping her lips.

Beneath a dark hood, the dark eyes of Zoe Nightshade stared at her. Zoe was just as surprised as she was, though she recovered her wits much quicker. A flash of silver swatted Thalia's spear aside before Zoe jumped into her, turning her body and throwing her hip into a very unprepared Thalia. The force her body check knocked Thalia's spear out of her grasp. Before she could go for it, Zoe grabbed her by the arm and flipped her over her back.

Thalia hit the unforgiving rocks hard and cried out when she felt one of her ribs crack.

Zoe held a hunting knife to her throat and Thalia went completely still.

"You reckless fool!" A familiar voice said behind Zoe. Phoebe stepped forward, her head shaking as she looked down at her.

"Traitors!" Thalia growled, not caring if they slit her throat. If she was about to die, she'd at least tell these two what garbage she thought they were.

Zoe's knife dug a little deeper into her throat, "I told you on Othrys. To be traitors, our allegiance would have had to change. Since his banishment, our loyalty had never wavered, not even once!"

Thalia narrowed her eyes. She tried to push Zoe's blade away but her other hand pinned her arm down.

"So what? Here to try to recruit some more hunters for your precious Perseus?"

Phoebe shook her head, "The hunters remaining are loyal to Artemis. We would never try to convince a huntress to break their oath of service to Artemis."

Thalia mouth twisted and she tried to spit at Phoebe but it didn't have the velocity and ended up just landing on her pant leg.

"We're going to have to kill her," Zoe said. She didn't sound happy about it but she also didn't seem all that opposed to the idea.

"No!" Phoebe hissed. "Our orders were to kill no one!"

"Our orders were to not be seen," Zoe countered and Thalia couldn't believe the casual tone in which she spoke. It was like she was debating a lunch choice, not the fate of a life.

"It doesn't matter." Phoebe said firmly. "She's not going to be able to stop us."

Thalia's eyes narrowed as she suddenly realized she had no idea what these two were doing here. If they weren't trying to lure more hunters away, then she needed to know why they were there.

Zoe glared at Phoebe for a minute but when she didn't relent, Zoe just shrugged.

"Fine, then what do we do with her?"

Without answering, Phoebe began to dig into the backpack on Zoe's back. She fished around for a moment and then produced a roll of gray duct tape.

"I'm going to kill you both!" Thalia growled.

Zoe snorted and then moved with such speed Thalia couldn't even react as she was yanked onto her butt. Zoe slid behind her and kept the blade against her throat.

Phoebe pulled off a strip of tape and almost looked apologetic as she slapped it over her mouth. Thalia tried to scream but her voice was muffled by the tape. The two hunters proceeded to bind her wrists and ankles before doubling up the tape on her mouth. Zoe pulled her to her feet and had to support her from falling over.

Phoebe tucked the tape away and began to walk deeper into the crevice. She held her hand against the rock and Thalia's eyes went wide when a glowing symbol appeared. It looked like a triangle and Thalia's mind quickly realized it wasn't a triangle at all. It was a letter, a glowing Greek D, or a Delta.

Suddenly the rocks broke apart and an opening in the rocks appeared.

"Let's go, we're late." Phoebe said as she slipped into the opening.

Zoe held Thalia at arm's length and shook her head.

"It's not personal, Thalia. But in war, you can't afford friends."

Zoe's right hand came around and she slammed the butt of her hunting knife into the side of Thalia's head and the lights instantly went out for the daughter of Zeus.

 **-X-**

 _Thalia found herself in a place she'd only seen once in her life. It took a minute but the sheer beauty of everything around her told her she was on Olympus. She tried to open her mouth but found she had no voice. She tried to look around when she was suddenly ripped away from the spot she stood. The world materialized inside an enormous room. A fire blazed in the corner of the room and radiated more heat than a single fire should have been able to produce. Torches burned intermittently around the room, filling it with light, shadows dancing along the walls from the flickering flames._

 _She gazed around the room and found the walls covered with incredible works of art and the pelts of exotic animals. Some she recognized, a lion, a leopard, a gazelle. Some looked strange, like they kind of looked like animals but definitely weren't any creatures she'd seen before._

 _Before she had a chance to think about it anymore, she heard the sound of soft footsteps approaching. She tried to slip behind a chair but found her body completely immobilized._

 _Artemis stepped into the room. She wore an old style Greek chiton and a silver crown on her head. Her hair was longer than she'd seen it before and maybe a tad darker. A deep auburn color that seemed to shimmer in the firelight._

 _Thalia was a little surprised by her appearance. She was a little older than she'd seen her, maybe twenty or so. Her chiton had a long slit running down it from the waist, showing off more leg than she'd ever expect a goddess, at least Artemis, to show. She wore Greek sandals, the leather wrapping around her calves almost to her knee._

 _Thalia knew Artemis was beautiful. She was a goddess, they were all beautiful. But this version of Artemis left her a loss for words... And she was a girl, she couldn't imagine what a guy would think when they looked at her._

 _Before she had a chance to analyze the goddess' appearance any further, another figure followed her into the room. Artemis' eyes glanced behind her and it was clear she was not in a good mood._

 _Apparently unaware of her mood, the second figure slipped his arms around her waist from behind her. Their head rested on her shoulder and Thalia simultaneously felt her blood boil and her face flush._

 _Perseus grabbed the goddess by the waist and tried to kiss her on the cheek only for Artemis to turn her head away from him, making him frown._

 _"Artemis," he said firmly. "You need to relax. Nothing is going to happen, I'm simply going to listen."_

 _Thalia watched Artemis purse her lips, her expression clearly showing she wasn't pleased with his words._

 _With them apart, Thalia got a better look at Perseus. He looked much more similar to the god she'd seen recently than Artemis did. He was around Artemis' age, had a neatly trimmed black beard and long tied back hair the same as he'd had every time she'd seen him. He also wore a chiton but it only covered one shoulder and left a large portion of his chest exposed._

 _In whatever form Thalia was in right then, she felt herself swallow a lump in her throat. He was very muscled and his chiton didn't leave a lot to the imagination. Despite herself, Thalia could see why Artemis had fallen for him._

 _Artemis broke away from his arms and turned to look at him. Her silver eyes were staring into his dark ones, her expression was a combination of angry and concerned._

 _"Why do you have to go? Nothing good can come of this. If Zeus discovers..."_

 _Perseus cut her off, "He's not going to find out. I'm simply going to hear what they have to say. If they believe they have a solution, then this will only strengthen Olympus."_

 _Artemis didn't look convinced. But she also didn't seem like she had a good counterargument._

 _"Percy, you have angered father too many times already. If he finds you amongst them, he will punish you severely."_

 _Those words seemed to sour the god's mood._

 _"That's part of the problem. Father's rule goes unchecked. We're supposed to be a council of gods yet we've been relegated to mere witnesses to his utter abuse and misuse of power."_

 _Artemis' expression became less angry and much more worried. She gave him a pleading look._

 _"But... But if something were to happen..."_

 _He stepped forward and grabbed her hands. He held them in front of him in his own. Even in her older form, her small hands looked tiny in his giant ones. He ran his thumbs over her palms and up and down her fingers. Despite what she knew about him and how much she hated him, Thalia couldn't deny the genuine love he seemed to have for Artemis. It was a small gesture but it was obvious Artemis saw it the same way she did._

 _She stepped closer and put her head against his chest._

 _"Tread carefully," she said into his chest._

 _He smiled mischievously as he rested his chin on her head "Aren't I always?"_

 _She pulled back and gave him another glare that made him chuckle._

 _"Don't give me those angry eyes," he warned. "You know what happens when I see those."_

 _Artemis' expression changed and Thalia suddenly felt all the blood rush to her face. Artemis' arms went around his neck while his slid around her waist. Her bow and quiver vanished as she started to walk him backwards, his hands gliding down the back of her chiton, their kiss never breaking._

 _Thalia's heart raced as she realized what they were about to do._

She felt a pair of strong hands under her arms as she felt her consciousness return to her body. She immediately began to thrash around but the hands gripped her shoulders and tried to hold her still.

"Thalia! Thalia!" The voice was Chiron's and it immediately got her to calm a bit.

She yelped as she felt the tape ripped off her lips. The metallic taste of her own blood made her a little lightheaded until Chiron's voice brought her back to reality.

"Yes," he didn't sound happy. "Thank you, Clarisse. I think I can handle it from here."

Thalia turned and found a less than apologetic Clarisse La Rue holding the duct tape in her hand.

"She looked like she had something to say," Clarisse tried and failed to hold in her smirk. Thalia gave her a death glare that only made her smirk grow.

Chiron pulled out a dagger and cut the tape from her wrists and ankles, letting Thalia pull them off herself.

"My poor girl," Chiron looked worried. "What on earth happened to you? We've been searching for hours. Thank the gods the nymphs were able to find you."

It wasn't until then that Thalia noticed thelarge number of campers were standing around her. She felt a wave of anxiety with that many eyes on her but thankfully Chiron noticed.

"Back to you cabins," he said firmly. "I want the cabin leaders in the big house. The hour is late, off to bed with everyone else. The harpies will be out in fifteen minutes and it'll be stable duty for a month to anyone who's caught out of their cabins." He threatened. "If you survive the harpies, that is."

The threat was enough to get the campers in motion, the sounds of their complaints and whining not hard to hear. But the harpies did tend to be rather vicious in apprehending campers out of bed past curfew, so they obeyed the command.

Chiron put a hand on Thalia's back and led her away from Zeus' Fist and back towards the big house. By the time they'd gotten there, the leaders from each cabin were already waiting around the ping pong table, all anxious to hear what'd happened to her. Chiron grabbed a chair for her and then stood at the head of the table, forgoing his wheelchair and opting to stand over the whole table.

Thalia swallowed hard as she looked around the table.

Katie Gardner, the leader of the Demeter cabin looked worried and concerned for her. She'd always liked Katie, she was incredibly nice. Well, until someone messed with her gardens. She could be downright ruthless when she needed to, as the Stoll brothers could attest to.

They were seated across from her. After the death of Luke, they'd both assumed the position of head camper. They weren't twins, though it was hard to tell considering how much they looked and acted alike. Idiots was usually the best term to describe them, though they did have their moments.

Clarisse La Rue was next to them, giving them sideway glares while looking impatient to hear Thalia's story. She was a typical child of Ares, perhaps a little more harsh than most but she would be a good ally to have in any fight.

Malcolm Pace was across from Clarisse. Thalia hated the way his stormy grey eyes bore into her. They reminded her so much of Annabeth that she usually tried to avoid looking at him. Which did make her feel bad, he was actually a good kid, quiet but also smart as a whip and always ready to help with anyone's problems.

Beside him sat Silena Beaurehard, the head Aphrodite camper. She was tall, slim and beautiful, everything you'd expect a child of Aphrodite to be. But unlike her siblings, she didn't possess the conceited vanity that many of the others did. Her beauty was all natural and her personalty only seemed to accentuate it. Thalia liked Silena, she was pretty awesome.

Across from her was the hulking form of Charles Beckendorf. The son of Hephaestus was built like a tank. His dark skin barely seemed to contain his thick muscles. His face seemed like it was always scowling but he was actually a pretty good guy; quiet but nice. He stole occasional glances at Silena who simply smiled back at him. The mutual attraction between those two was the worst kept secret in camp and that was saying something.

Next to Beckendorf was Michael Yew. The guy couldn't have been more than four foot six but he had at least a few extra inches of attitude. His features were scrunched up which was either from always looking down the shaft of an arrow or scowling. Having seen Apollo, he didn't look much like his father but his skills with a bow would beg to differ.

The last two were the twin sons of Dionysus, Castor and Pollux. They were the head and only campers of the Dionysus cabin. Thalia didn't know them that well but they seemed nice enough. They were spitting images of their father except their curly hair was blonde while the god's was black.

"Well?" Clarisse barked. "What happened?"

Thalia realized she was just sitting their blankly looking at the head campers. She cleared her throat knowing things were about to get chaotic.

"The hunters, Zoe and Phoebe, I found them in the forest. They attacked me and then tied to me up before slipping away."

For a fleeting moment, their was silence.

Then everyone began talking at once. The talking became yelling as everyone tried to be heard. Thalia just shook her head, sometimes she seriously didn't know about her friends.

Chiron slammed a fist on the table and sent a crack rippling down the center. The barking demigods instantly went silent.

"Quiet!" He demanded. "Let Thalia speak and then we will discuss, in a civilized manner, what happened. I am certain there is more for her to tell us."

All eyes went back to Thalia and she felt like she wanted to slip under the table. But she didn't and began to story again from the beginning, not leaving anything out, up until Zoe knocked her out. When she finished, several campers looked like they wanted to speak but were waiting for Chiron to say something first.

"What did you say you saw in the rocks?" Chiron's expression was a mask of stoicism but Thalia could see the apprehension in his eyes.

"The triangle thing?" She asked. "It was a Delta symbol, I think."

The campers all stared at Chiron, clearly noticing the worry in his face.

"What is it, Chiron?" Malcolm asked, his curiosity peaked.

Chiron took a deep breath, "This is not good."

"What?" Clarisse scoffed. "A secret entrance into camp? Let's just blow it up! Preferably with those two traitors inside."

"How did we not know about it?" Malcolm pressed. "Surely this can't be the first you've heard of it, right Chiron?"

Thalia actually felt bad for Chiron. The old centaur looked downright miserable.

"It's not that simple. That symbol, the Delta, its the symbol of something ancient, ancient and dangerous."

Malcolm's face became thoughtful while everyone else stared impatiently at Chiron.

"It can't be," Malcolm said looking at Chiron for confirmation.

"It is, my boy."

"IT IS WHAT?" Clarisse snapped, trying to glare the answer out of the son of Athena.

"The Delta is the symbol of Daedalus. It's the symbol that marks the entrance to the Labyrinth."

The room was filled with silence again as everyone tried to remember everything they knew about the Labyrinth.

"Wait," Connor Stoll said shaking his head. "Wasn't the Labyrinth back in Crete, like back thousands of years ago?"

"Wow," Katie muttered. "He does have a couple functioning brain cells." Both Stolls glared at her but Katie just rolled her eyes then looked at Chiron

"Yes," Chiron agreed. "But the Labyrinth was not just a bunch of tunnels underneath Crete. It was a mythological force created by a child of the gods and driven by the power of the gods."

Everyone was quiet again as they tried to comprehend Chiron's explanation.

"And like so many of the things linked to the gods and their power, it has moved with the gods through the centuries." Chiron finished.

"Okay," Clarisse shrugged, "So, we blow it up?"

Chiron shook his head, his face looked tired, aged. "That will do nothing. It would simply reform somewhere else."

"But, it wouldn't be in camp." Beckendorf added, earning a nod of approval from Clarisse.

"Maybe," Malcolm said. "Or it would. We wouldn't know."

Clarisse scowled at him but didn't respond.

"It's better that we know where the entrance is, that way we can watch it and make sure no one slips into camp without us knowing." Silena said, joining the conversation.

"But," Thalia cut in, "why were they in camp to begin with? They weren't trying to lure hunters away, so why would they even be here?"

"It could be used to attack us!" Michael said standing on his chair, a fiery look on his face. "They could lead an army right into camp and we'd be caught with our pants down!" The subtle southern twang to his voice usually sounded kind of funny but there was no humor to be had in the room.

"So, then what? What do can we do?" Pollux asked, looking around for someone to give him an answer.

"What can we do?" Silena asked. "All we can do is wait."

"A prophecy," the words tasted bitter as Thalia spoke them. She had no love for prophecies after the last one. "We could get a prophecy as ask the oracle what to do."

Everyone turned to Chiron who's shoulders seemed to sag as he noticed everyone's eyes on him. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

"It might be our only option."

Suddenly everyone got an interest in the ping pong table. No one wanted to seek a prophecy, not after the way the last one ended.

Thalia stood up and turned away from the table.

"Where are you going?" Katie asked.

"To visit the oracle," Thalia said miserably. She waited, hoping someone would tell her to stop or offer to go instead. But all she heard was silence and she knew she had no choice.

She moved slowly, trying to put off what she was about to do. But sadly, it wasn't far to the attic. She stopped and looked up at the cord to lower the stairs.

"I am sorry," Chiron said as he grabbed the cord. "If I could go in your place, I would."

Thalia looked up at him and saw the genuine sympathy on his face. She forced herself to smile.

"It's okay, Chiron. Who knows, maybe I'll get lucky and the oracle will give a happy prophecy this time."

Chiron smiled but it didn't reach his eyes. He wanted to say something comforting but he didn't seem to be able to find the right words.

She gave him a genuine smile and climbed the stairs until she was in the dark attic. She found a string and pulled, turning on a small lightbulb near the ceiling. She got her first look inside the attic. No one ever went up here unless they were looking for the oracle. As she looked around, she saw some of the strangest things.

There were dented shields scattered around the room. She saw shrunken heads, pickled in jars sitting on a shelf in front of her. Next to the jars, she saw a scarf with tag on it. She turned the tag over and read it.

 **APHRODITE'S SCARF**

Next to it, she saw a stuffed hydra head, not a pleasant sight to find in the big house attic.

There was a pair of fuzzy dice with a tag that read, **STOLEN FROM CHRYSAOR'S HONDA CIVIC BY GUS, SON OF HERMES.**

Thalia shook her head, deciding not to think about how some of these things ended up in here. She turned and froze as she laid on the decrepit corpse of the oracle sitting on a tripod in the corner of the room.

In her flower printed summer dress and big peace sign necklace, Thalia had a flashback of her first encounter with the oracle, when the old hag had tracked her down in the forest to give her the worst prophecy of her life... Well to date, anyway.

She pushed those memories aside and focused on the task at hand. She wasn't sure what she was supposed to do so she just winged it.

"What should we do about the Labyrinth?"

She tensed and waited for the mummified body to come to life. But as the seconds ticked by, nothing happened. There was no green smoke, no raspy combination of voices, nothing. The old had didn't move an inch.

"Hey! I asked you a question! Tell me what to do!" She yelled, trying to glare the oracle to life.

But still, nothing. She cursed under her breath and turned around to walk back down stairs.

"Typical of the gods, disappear when you're actually needed. Thanks for the advice on how to deal with the enemy you brought to our doorstep." She muttered as she made her way to stairs.

As she took the first step, she froze. A green mist floated by her head and her heard the creaking of the floor boards behind her.

She turned and her jaw dropped. The oracle floated a few feet above the floor, her body suspended in a shroud of green smoke. Her empty eye sockets bore into Thalia's and her mouth opened.

 _Delve into the darkness of the endless maze,_

 _Find the lost god that you shall raise,_

 _Guided by one who has the sight,_

 _Witness the betrayal born from spite,_

 _Child of Athena makes the final stand,_

 _And witness the deception decades planned._

Thalia watched as the green smoke surrounding the oracle slowly began to dissipate until the body of the hippie oracle collapsed to the floor of the attic. She stared at it for a long moment, waiting to see if it would come back to life but it just stayed in a heap on the ground.

She didn't try to put it back. She made her way to the stairs and down where Chiron was waiting for her.

"Yes?"

She looked up at her mentor and shook her head, "I fucking hate prophecies."

 **A.N: That was a lot longer than I had planned. Kind of got into a groove writing. Be warned, the prophecy could change, I tend to change them as I write the following chapters, so you should probably reread it before reading the next chapter, whenever I get that written. So? Good? Bad? Stop writing cuz it was so bad you wanna scratch out your eyes? Let me know, I welcome ideas and comments, they help me write new chapters.**


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